ODM seeks to woo Malindi voters with huge billboards

Major parties have stepped up campaigns for the March 7 Malindi parliamentary by-election, with ODM erecting giant billboards in the resort town declaring the region a Cord zone.

The billboards are placed in strategic parts of the town, with one at Kwa Ngala stage past Malindi Airport carrying pictures of Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi and ODM leader Raila Odinga.

At the junction of BP, another with a picture of Mr Odinga addressing a crowd has been mounted with a message “Father of Devolution”.

At the Malindi roundabout is yet another image of Cord principals Kalonzo Musyoka, Moses Wetang’ula and Raila Odinga and Governor Kingi.

On the road to the Kilifi County Assembly just past the roundabout is a huge standalone banner with a photo of an orange with words “Malindi is an ODM zone (Malindi ni ODM)”.

JUBILEE RESPONSE

The billboards and banners have not gone down well with Jubilee coalition leaders in the town who say they should be pulled down as Malindi does not belong to a single party.

The politicians said the billboards might trigger chaos as Malindi has supporters of different parties who should not be subjected to intimidation tactics by ODM and Cord.

They called for the Independent and Electoral Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to take action against ODM leaders.

Kilifi North MP Gedion Mung’aro, an ODM MP who rebelled against the party to work with the Jubilee government, said ODM was destroying multi-party democracy in Kenya.

Mr Mung’aro, who is also chairman of the Coast Parliamentary Group, was speaking at a rally for Jubilee candidate Philip Charo in Kijiwetanga.

“Those billboards should not have been allowed and should be removed immediately,” he said.

INTIMIDATION

Mr Mung’aro said Cord’s bragging amounted to intimidation and was not healthy for a free society that had the right to decide who their next MP would be.

“What if other political parties decided to put up billboards? Will there be enough space?” he said.

But speaking in Kilifi town, ODM county vice chairman and Deputy Speaker of the County Assembly, Mr Teddy Mwambire, told Jubilee to stop crying foul as they were free to put up their own billboards.

“They should not teach us about democracy. Placing a big billboard to promote the values of the party you support is not a sin.

It is happening all over the world. What is stopping Jubilee from doing the same?” he asked.

TENSION RISING

There was tension in Malindi last month when some ODM posters were pulled down before President Uhuru Kenyatta toured the town.

The act was condemned by Cord leaders with its chairman, Governor Kingi, threatening to take action against those responsible.

The Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers has called for calm, saying Malindi depends solely on tourism and the sector can only thrive when the region is peaceful.

“Peace is key for tourism. It is our hope that our leaders and party supporters will maintain calm during the campaign period,” Coast branch executive officer Sam Ikwaye said.

He urged politicians who have camped in Malindi to sample the local attractions and boost domestic tourism.

RIVAL CANDIDATES

The battle for the seat has recently intensified, with both Cord and Jubilee leaders camping in the town to campaign for their party candidates.

Cord leaders have rallied behind ODM candidate Willy Mutengo in a spirited bid to retain the seat that was left vacant when Mr Dan Kazungu was named Cabinet Secretary for Mining.

On the other hand, President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM rebel MPs led by Mr Mung’aro are backing Jubilee candidate Philip Charo.

The President endorsed Mr Charo as the Jubilee candidate during a tour of Malindi last month.

Shortly after the President’s visit, Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho and MPs Abdulswamad Nassir (Mvita) and Rashid Bedzimba of Kisauni camped in Malindi to campaign for Mr Mtengo.