Governor under fire for Raila snub

Kwale Governor Salim Mvurya Sunday came under fire for skipping a campaign rally addressed by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga to drum up support for a Cord candidate.

Mr Odinga was in Shimoni on Saturday to campaign for the Ford Kenya candidate Khatib Mwashetani.

Leading the attack was a former nominated councillor Hassan Chitembe who grabbed the microphone from Mr Mwashetani and told the PM to take action against the ODM governor for disrespecting him.

“How can the governor fail to be here (Shimoni) when the ODM party leader and CORD principals have come to support one of your leaders for the by-election?” he posed.

But in his speech, Mr Odinga avoided the controversy and instead asked the Lunga Lunga electorates to vote for the Cord candidate saying a loss would mean he was losing grip of the Coast region.

“We cannot afford to lose this seat because doing so will mean that our coalition and myself in particular I am losing my grip of stronghold,” he said.

According to Mr Chitembe the governor should be disciplined for showing open hostility against the Ford Kenya aspirant who is seeking to recapture his parliamentary seat in the December 2 by-election. His win was nullified by the court.

Differences between the governor and two Kwale leaders – Mr Mwashetani and Mr Suleiman Dori (Msambweni MP) are the reasons why Mr Mvurya has taken a back seat in the Lunga Lunga by-election campaigns.

Yesterday, sources told the Nation the two leaders have been criticising the governor for what they claim is lack of leadership.