Coast leaders are putting pressure on governors Hassan Joho, Amason Kingi and Salim Mvurya to reveal their plans in preparation for the 2022 election.
The three county chiefs are serving their final terms. Mombasa’s Joho and Kilifi’s Kingi have declared their interest in the presidency.
However, Joho has been more vocal about his intended candidacy.
During Madaraka Day celebrations at Tononoka Ground in Mombasa, MPs Ali Mbogo (Kisauni), Mishi Mboko (Likoni) and Senator Mohamed Faki said the three are the lights of the region.
The other three governors from the region are serving their first term and will most likely seek reelection. They are Tana River’s Dhadho Godhana, Taita Taveta’s Granton Samboja and Lamu’s Fahim Twaha.
The lawmakers told Joho, Kingi and Mvurya to decide who will assume the mantle as a presidential candidate for the region so they can start marshalling support.
“You have to show us the way as a community and as a region,” Mbogo said. “They said they will sit and decide who will fly our flag. We want them to do that because time is not on our side.”
Mvurya has kept his cards close to his chest. His aides, however, said he is keen on landing a job in the next government. He had been close to Deputy President William Ruto and was even being considered as the DP’s possible running mate.
Just like many of the Coast MPs who had been close to Ruto, however, now he is seen with the DP less and less.
On Saturday, Mboko and Mbogo said the three governors risk being forgotten once they finish their terms if they have no tangible plan for their political future.
Mboko said Joho is the best candidate to lead the region because he has traversed the country and endeared himself to the people of Kenya.
“If Coast people want to sit on the roundtable to negotiate with our brothers from the other regions, we must support one of us who has shown interest and ability,” she said.
Faki said the distribution of resources has been biased against the Coast region over the years because its leaders have not been united.
“This time we want a strong, united leadership that will speak with one strong voice,” he said.
The three leaders noted that the region has not had adequate representation in government, despite having more than a million votes.
Mbogo said in the Coalition Government, Coast had more than four ministers, including Joho, Ali Mwakwere, Kingi, Suleiman Shakombo and Ramadhan Kajembe.
“In 2017, we have only one CS in Najib Balala. What went wrong as Coasterians?” he asked. “If we don’t organise ourselves, we will be organised.”
