COUNTY POLITICS: Kenyan of Italian origin joins race for Magarini parliamentary seat
What you need to know:
- Franco Esposito, popularly known as Kasoso wa Baya, will battle it out with current Member of Parliament Harrison Kombe of the Jubilee Party (JP).
- Mr Esposito, who lost in the 2007 General Election, will vie using Kadu Asili.
- Earlier, Mr Esposito had said he was planning to vie for the seat using the JP.
A Kenyan of Italian origin has joined the race for the Magarini parliamentary seat.
Mr Franco Esposito, popularly known as "Kasoso wa Baya", will battle it out with current Member of Parliament Harrison Kombe of the Jubilee Party (JP).
Mr Esposito, who lost in the 2007 General Eection, will vie using Kadu Asili.
Earlier, Mr Esposito had said he was planning to vie for the seat using the JP.
Former Kilifi Agriculture executive Mwalimu Menza, and former Malindi Water and Sewerage Company boss Michael Kingi have also declared interest in the seat under the Amani National Congress (ANC) and the Orange Democratic Movement, respectively.
On Sunday, ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi endorsed Mr Menza as the party flag bearer for the seat at Marafa Cultural grounds.
Mr Menza said he had settled on the ANC as it is a member of the National Super Alliance.
“I have a democratic right to choose the party I feel will help our people. I do not have any personal difference with my former boss, Governor Amason Kingi,” he said.
On the other hand, Mr Michael Kingi, Governor Amason Kingi’s younger brother, is expected to vie for the seat under the ODM. Governor Kingi heads the party in Kilifi.
On Tuesday, Mr Esposito said he was approached by residents who wanted him to help “end historical injustices in the region”.
A resident, Mr Johnson Mtawali, said: “We want Mr Esposito to lead us as he helped us get title deeds for our land which had been grabbed using forged documents”.
Mr Esposito said he first came to Kenya in 1964 as an engineer attached to San Marco Project, a Space Co-operation Programme between Italy and Kenya, and gained Kenyan citizenship in 2003.
