Aisha Jumwa confident of winning Malindi MP’s seat

Kilifi Woman Rep Aisha Jumwa who is now vying for the Malindi Constituency seat. She says she is unstoppable in her quest. PHOTO | CHARLES LWANGA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • During the bruising battle for the ODM ticket in the party primaries, she trounced Mr Mtengo.
  • The outspoken woman rep will also face off with six other candidates for the Malindi seat.
  • Together with Mombasa's Mishi Mboko, the two women leaders have made a name for themselves in Coast region.

When the Malindi Constituency seat fell vacant in 2015 after the ODM MP Dan Kazungu was appointed to President Uhuru Kenyatta’s cabinet, Kilifi Woman Rep Aisha Jumwa’s name immediately came to the fore in discussions by her party’s leadership at the Coast.

They were of the view that Ms Jumwa would be better placed to capture the seat and ensure it remained tightly in ODM’s stable.

Eventually, after consultations, it was decided that Ms Jumwa completes her term as woman rep and the rest would follow, some day.

During the ensuing by-election, Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho, Kilifi’s Amason Kingi, and a handful of other ODM leaders from the coast and nationally mounted a major campaign to protect their turf, fighting off Jubilee Party’s Philip Charo and his high-powered team which also included Jubilee’s top leadership.

DECISIVE WIN

Eventually, ODM carried the day and its’ candidate, William Mtengo, won the seat decisively.

But a month down the line, Ms Jumwa came calling. She let Mr Mtengo know that she would be running for the seat and wanted nothing short of unseating him.

And the battle for Malindi Constituency between the two ODM leaders kicked off, with Ms Jumwa making it clear that she would ensure that the MP would only serve for one year in that seat.

The abrasive woman rep has almost made good her word.

ODM ELECTIONS

During the bruising battle for the ODM ticket in the party primaries, she trounced Mr Mtengo.

However, the two will still square it out during the August 8 elections after Mr Mtengo decided to run as an independent candidate.

The outspoken woman rep will also face off with six other candidates who include Jubilee’s Charo, Wiper Party’s Rashid Odhiambo, Federal Party of Kenya’s Nelson Gunga, Richard Ondara of UDP, Dr Harry Mwimali of Kadu Asili and Mr Faud Kombe of Devolution Party of Kenya.

However, Ms Jumwa who beat Mr Mtengo by more than 4,000 votes, is seen as a front runner and has exuded confidence that the seat is hers to win.

Together with Mombasa Woman Rep Mishi Mboko, the two women leaders have made a name for themselves in the region because of their abrasive politics, courage, outspokenness and loyalty to their party and its leadership.

UNSTOPPABLE

The two have often found themselves rubbing the law the wrong way but that has not stopped them from pursuing their interests.

Ms Jumwa, a self-declared campaigner for women rights, says she decided to switch to a constituency seat because it is more competitive in that she has to battle it out with men, and it will also give her a different experience and platform on which to serve her people.

“I came to Malindi in order to compete against men and women alike and change the mentality that the constituency seat is a preserve of men among the Mijikenda community,” she told residents recently at Kwachocha.

Ms Jumwa has said on difference occasions during campaigns insisted that her bid to capture the Malindi seat on August 8 is unstoppable.

Further, she told supporters that her move to the constituency seat was aimed at nurturing other women into elective politics, instead of dominating the woman rep’s seat.

Speaking to Nation in Malindi, Ms Jumwa, a former civic leader, said having served as a woman rep for one term, she has matured politically and it is time to move on to a seat that she would fight out for competitively and with more challenges than that of woman rep.

She also speaks of the challenge to change the community’s mind-set – both men and women – that leadership, and especially political, is a preserve of men.

This is despite the fact that legendary Mijikenda freedom fighter Mekatilili wa Menza who led in the struggle to fight off the British was a woman from the community.

During campaigns for the party primaries, her rivals would be heard on several occasions urging residents not to elect a woman to the constituency seat, saying the parliamentary position is meant for men because “it needs strong leadership.’’

Ms Jumwa has urged Malindi voters to give her a chance, arguing that women are as good, if not better leaders, than their male counterparts.

Ms Jumwa, who hails from Takaungu in Kilifi North Constituency, relocated to Kakuyuni in Malindi where she built a home and settled with her family.

Among the things she promises to do if elected as Malindi’s next MP is to change the constituency’s face by improving its dwindling tourism and also improve education standards.