Jubilee, ODM Coast point men try to mark out territory

President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto have identified their point men at the Coast in an attempt to end ODM leader Raila Odinga’s dominance of the region ahead of the August polls.

The National Super Alliance has also named its key lieutenants to help consolidate its support in the region that overwhelmingly voted for ODM in 2013 polls.

The Jubilee Party leaders have been camping at the Coast nearly every month to try and wrestle the opposition support in an area said to be among the poorest in the country due to years of marginalisation.

President Kenyatta and Mr Ruto returned to the Coast on Thursday, where they doled out goodies in Lamu and Kilifi counties and urged locals to shun the opposition and back their re-election for growth.

The two are expected in Taita Taveta on Saturday, before heading to Mombasa and Kwale counties on Sunday.

According to a communication from State House, President Kenyatta is to hold a major rally at Tononoka Grounds on Sunday with unconfirmed reports indicating ODM leaders were contemplating holding a parallel rally.

ODM vice-chairman Khatib Hatimy however denied this.

Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho has announced he will join hands with governors Amason Kingi (Kilifi), John Mruttu (Taita Taveta), Issa Timamy (Lamu) and Hussein Dado (Tana River) to campaign for Mr Odinga to be president.

Mr Timamy however attended a presidential function in Witu on Thursday and declared support for President Kenyatta to win a second term.

Mr Timamy, who was elected on a UDF ticket, announced that he would work with Jubilee administration for development.

He was however non-committal about a push by President Kenyatta, Mr Ruto and other leaders that he defects to Jubilee.

Mr Dado, who won the Tana River gubernatorial contest on a Wiper ticket, also praised the Jubilee leadership development record.

ODM/JUBILEE TURF WAR
Mr Joho, Mr Mruttu and Mr Kingi are however diehard ODM lieutenants.

The ODM boat was punctured following the defection of Kwale Governor Salim Mvurya, Woman Rep Zainab Chidzuga and MPs Gideon Mung’aro and Mustafa Iddi to Jubilee.

Taita Taveta Senator Dan Mwazo - who was elected on an ODM ticket - has also indicated he will vie for the governor’s post on a Jubilee ticket.

Another key Nasa campaigner at the Coast is Mombasa Senator Hassan Omar.

Mr Mung’aro is the main Jubilee campaigner at the Coast since the bruising Malindi by-election last year that was won by ODM.

On Thursday, President Kenyatta and Mr Ruto named Mr Mung’aro as their key ally and vouched for him to be Kilifi governor.

Jubilee chairman Nelson Dzuya is also leading the bandwagon in Kilifi, which leads in population at the Coast.

Mr Kingi and Kilifi Senator Stewart Madzayo are carrying the opposition flag.

In Mombasa, Jubilee's favourite for governor businessman Suleiman Shahbal, his running mate Anania Mwaboza and deputy governor Hazel Katana, who has deserted Mr Joho and ODM and is eyeing the senatorial seat, are the main campaigners for President Kenyatta and Mr Ruto.

Mr Joho has teamed up with MPs allied to him to lock Jubilee out of the county.

In Kwale, Mr Mvurya - who is Jubilee’s biggest catch from the opposition basket - Ms Chizuga and Kinango MP Samuel Gonzi Rai are leading the onslaught against the opposition, which has been emboldened by the defection of former Kenya’s ambassador to Tanzania, Chirau Mwakwere, to Wiper.

Nominated senator Agnes Zani, his brother Nicholas Zani, Assembly speaker Sammy Ruwa, former Permanent Secretary Mohammed Mwarapayo are fighting to ward off Jubilee from penetrating into the county.

During President Kenyatta’s visit to Witu on Thursday, Mr Ruto portrayed former MP and gubernatorial aspirant Fahim Twaha and Lamu West MP Julius Ndegwa as the ones to market Jubilee in the country’s smallest county in terms of population.

Former assistant minister Danson Mungatana is to help sell Jubilee in Tana River.

ACTION-ORIENTED
In the 2013 polls, Mr Odinga beat President Kenyatta in all the six counties at the Coast with ODM bagging most of the votes.

In Kilifi, Mr Odinga scooped 182,708 votes to Mr Kenyatta’s 23,386.

In Taita Taveta, the ODM leader garnered 75,329 votes to Mr Kenyatta’s 12,175 votes.

In Kwale, the Nasa co-principal got 101,407 votes compared to Mr Kenyatta’s 17,633, while in Mombasa the former Prime Minister was satisfied with 189,985 as the Jubilee Party leader netted 64,793.

In Tana River, Mr Odinga collected 39,666 votes with Mr Kenyatta receiving 22,419 votes while in Lamu, which Mr Kenyatta gave Mr Odinga a run for his money, the ODM leader got 22,962 votes compared to the former Gatundu South MP’s 17,677.

Nasa leaders Kalonzo Musyoka, Musalia Mudavadi and Moses Wetang'ula have also been making forays at the Coast, meeting aspirants and seeking support for the presidency.

Dr Ekuru Aukot of the Third Way Alliance has also sought backing in the region.

But it is President Kenyatta and Mr Odinga whose fight for the control of the area, which is key in the country’s economy, has been intense.

On Thursday, President Kenyatta and Mr Ruto urged locals to shun the opposition and back their re-election.

They said they were keen on developing the region despite locals rejecting them in the 2013 polls as they are action-oriented.

They cited various projects including building of a port in Lamu, the Standard Gauge Railway, roads, issuance of title deeds, provision of water, and equipping of hospitals as some of reasons why locals should vote for them.

The State, they said, has also improved security and increased electricity connection.

According to Mr Ruto, Coast residents have got top public jobs.

But the opposition has downplayed the government’s development record in the region, saying most of the projects were funded by donors and were started by the previous governments.

“There’s no major project that has been funded by the national government in Kilifi. Taxes paid by locals will have to pay for the World Bank funded projects,” Mr Kingi said.

The opposition leaders accuse the Jubilee leadership of failing to address unemployment, landlessness food shortage and frequent terror attacks that have hurt tourism.