Battle for new king of Coast

• Joho seems to be the front runner, but he has yet to secure grassroots support

The Coast has always had a political pointman who voices the region’s aspirations, mainly majimbo and land ownership. From Ronald Ngala to Shariff Nassir and Karisa Maitha, that focus was maintained.

But with Tourism and Transport ministers Najib Balala and Chirau Ali Mwakwere out of the way (at least in the short term), one would have expected attention to turn to the other two ministers from the region, Naomi Shabaan of Special Programmes and Amason Kingi of East African Community. But they are minnows in Coast power games.

Mr Balala, who rode on the ODM wave in 2007, has fallen afoul of his principal and fellow legislators from the region and is now a lone ranger in the volatile matrix.

Mr Mwakwere is fighting for his political life in Matuga constituency after losing the seat in a dramatic court petition.

Attention now is shifting to relative political greenhorn Kisauni MP Ali Hassan Joho known for his larger-than-life business image he uses shrewdly to curry political advantage.

The ODM organising secretary also enjoys the confidence of party leader and Prime Minister Raila Odinga, especially in keeping the rebellious Mr Balala in check.

Influential activists

But what surprises pundits is the fact that the Kisauni MP also has strong business ties with certain “influential activists” in the Party of National Unity, earning an enviable foothold on both sides of the coalition. He also has a number of coastal MPs in his camp.

Despite his present position, it is quite clear that with the current coalition configurations, the region may never again have a central political point of reference like Mr Nassir in the 1980s and 1990s, or Mr Maitha in the immediate post-Moi era.

Mr Joho may never wield the kind of influence the two kingpins had. He has money and a good number of MPs tugging at his coattails, but he has little influence on the ground.

But civil rights lawyer Lumatete Muchai says for the time being, the Kisauni MP is the front runner for the position.

“He has the resources, and he can mobilise influence within the corridors of power better than any other leader in the Coast,” he said.

But rather than a single kingpin, there may emerge a slew of pointmen representing the agendas of certain sections of the grand coalition’s parties, which are transient and based on shifting interests.

There is talk in Mombasa of a new group of leaders and activists coalescing around Agriculture minister William Ruto and Mr Balala. The group has the support of business people opposed to the mainstream ODM leadership.

Mohamed Zubedi, a former Member of the East African Legislative Assembly who still wields massive influence in the Coast, says the control of political parties by the wealthy will be their ruin.

“The wealthy bankrolling political parties is a phenomenon that is evident all over the world. They do it for self interest,” he said. But in local politics, he added, the wealthy do not bank roll parties but rather individuals in those parties.