ODM Senator Boy is buried in Vanga, Kwale

Opposition chief Raila Odinga (second right) together with other Coast leaders during the burial of Kwale Senator Boy Juma Boy yesterday at his home in Vanga. PHOTO | LABAN WALLOGA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Boy was eulogised as humble, principled and generous man and a fighter and defender of the rights of Coast residents. He was said to have refused to be bribed.
  • Lunga Lunga Member of Parliament Khatib Mwashetani was heckled when he attempted to deliver President Uhuru Kenyatta’s condolence message.
  • A Muslim preacher who conducted the prayers said Boy’s family had offered to pay all his debts and asked those who owed him to pay up.
  • Boy becomes the third senator to die in office after Mutula Kilonzo and Otieno Kajwang. 

Kwale Senator Boy Juma Boy was laid to rest in Vanga on Monday, bringing to an end his long life in politics. Born in 1959, the late Boy, who was first elected to Parliament in 1983, was interred shortly after 4pm.

Cord co-principals Raila Odinga of ODM, Wiper’s Kalonzo Musyoka and Mr Moses Wetang’ula (Ford-Kenya), as well as Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho and Senator Hassan Omar, Senate Deputy Speaker Kembi Gitura and former Cabinet minister Chirau Ali Mwakwere led hundreds of mourners in paying their last respects to the lawmaker popularly remembered for his mastery of Kiswahili.

National Super Alliance (Nasa) leaders expressed confidence of winning the August 8 elections, accusing the Jubilee government of failing to fulfil promises that it made to Kenyans. They urged Coast residents to reject Jubilee.

“They have failed to deliver the laptops as promised, the roads in most parts of the country are in a pathetic state and all the other sectors of the economy are ailing,” Mr Odinga said.

Governors Joho and Amason Kingi (Kilifi) as well as Senators Johnson Muthama (Machakos) and Dr Boni Khalwale (Kakamega) also expressed confidence that the Jubilee administration would be sent home in August.

Boy was eulogised as humble, principled and generous man and a fighter and defender of the rights of Coast residents. He was said to have refused to be bribed.

Lunga Lunga Member of Parliament Khatib Mwashetani was heckled when he attempted to deliver President Uhuru Kenyatta’s condolence message. Despite his Msambweni counterpart Suleiman Dori’s intervention, the ODM defector was still jeered. 

“Whether you like it or not, I am your MP,” Mr Mwashetani, who is the late Boy’s relative, said as the crowd shouted, “Envelope! Envelope!” to signify that he was bribed to decamp to the ruling Jubilee Party.
But Mr Joho was cheered by the crowd, which chanted, “Lion...Lion.”

The casket containing the senator’s remains, draped in Muslim clothing, was ferried from his home to Masjid Riyadh for final prayers and to a local cemetery, where it was interred. Women were not allowed at the graveside.

PAY ALL BILLS

A Muslim preacher who conducted the prayers said Boy’s family had offered to pay all his debts and asked those who owed him to pay up.

Boy died at Aga Khan Hospital on Sunday after a short illness, becoming the third senator to die in office after Mutula Kilonzo and Otieno Kajwang. 

On Monday, mourners descended on the sleepy Vanga Village near the Kenya/Tanzania border to pay tribute to the Coast political stalwart who was a key ODM pointman in the region. Besides Mr Joho, the departed lawmaker was regarded as one of the most trusted allies of Mr Odinga at the Coast and played a key role in his presidential campaign in 2013.

An orator, Boy kept the Jubilee government on its toes over its promises to Coast residents and failures.

The Opposition recently lost another key figure in Kwale after Governor Salim Mvurya defected to Jubilee. President Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto have been trying to use Mr Mvurya, who decamped from ODM, to penetrate the opposition stronghold.

The control of Coast is crucial to both the Opposition and Jubilee in the August 8 General Election outcome. The Opposition won most of the seats in Coast in 2013 but some MPs have since switched allegiance to Jubilee.

President Kenyatta’s regime has been dishing out goodies, including title deeds, to Coast residents in a bid to turn the tide against the Opposition.

BEAT MWAKWERE

The region enjoys various mineral resources and is an important tourist destination, has become a battleground.

The situation has been tangled by Mr Mwakwere’s defection from Jubilee to ODM. The former minister, he of the “Zipapa” fame, resigned as ambassador to Tanzania last week to vie for the Kwale gubernatorial seat. He launched his bid on Sunday, when he crisscrossed the county in a huge convoy. The late Boy beat Mr Mwakwere to the seat in 2013.

Boy’s demise has also thrown the race for the Kwale senatorial seat wide open as he was the favourite to retain it. Among those being named as likely contenders are Dr Agnes Zani, an ODM nominated senator, who is, however, yet to declare her interest in the seat.

Mr Mshenga Ruga is said to be planning to vie on a Jubilee ticket, as is Mr Hassan Mzinga, while Mr Kinyasi Ginora is seeking the Amani National Congress nod.

Speaking at Mr Boy’s home yesterday, Dr Zani, a close friend of Mr Odinga’s, described the death of the senator a big blow to the county. She described Boy as an able leader who cared for his people, saying: “We will miss him...he was the voice of the Coast region.”

Former MP Abdallah Ngozo said: “It is an unfortunate that we lost such a leader.”