Jubilee banks on eight in bid to win votes at the Coast

Jubilee Party (JP) has identified key pointmen at the Coast as it launches an onslaught against the Opposition ahead of the August polls.

President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto are leading the onslaught, starting their four-day tour of the region that overwhelmingly voted for ODM in 2013 on Wednesday.

During the tour, the two have enumerated several development projects done by the Jubilee administration, as they sought to win the support of locals.

KILIFI LEADERS
President Kenyatta and Mr Ruto also paraded their pointmen who are in charge of their campaigns.

In Mombasa, gubernatorial aspirant Suleiman Shahbal and Likoni MP Masoud Mwahima are in-charge of ensuring Jubilee carries the day.

In Kilifi, the region’s most populous County, MP Gideon Mung’aro, his Kilifi South counterpart Mustafa Iddi and MP Harrison Kombe are in-charge of the search for votes.

Mr Mung’aro, who was elected on ODM ticket before decamping to JP, is eyeing the Kilifi gubernatorial seat.

In Lamu, veteran politician Fahim Twaha, who wants to be the county boss in the August vote, is spearheading JP campaigns.

DRIVE DEVELOPMENT
In Tana River, Governor Hussein Dado, who quit Wiper and joined JP is in-charge of the vote hunt, while in Taita Taveta, another ODM defector Dan Mwazo is to help President Kenyatta and Mr Ruto win.

Mr Mwazo is eyeing the Taita Taveta governor’s seat on JP ticket.

“I urge you to vote for JP candidates so that we can work together for development,” President Kenyatta told residents in Kilifi Town on Thursday.

The Jubilee pointmen are to face Nasa team headed by Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho, his Kilifi counterpart Amason Kingi, Mombasa Senator Hassan Omar, ODM Chief Whip Thomas Mwadeghu and former Cabinet Minister Chirau Mwakwere in the battle for the 1.7 million votes in the region.

INCOMPLETE PROJECTS
However, during the tour, President Kenyatta and Mr Ruto were hard-pressed to explain the failure of numerous projects they had initiated at the Coast.

The tarmacking of Garsen-Witu-Lamu Road and Wundanyi-Bura Road are among those yet to take off despite being launched by President Kenyatta in February.

Mr Joho, Mr Kingi and Mr Mwadeghu had chided the government for launching the projects despite money for their implementation not being factored in the budget.

Lamu, the smallest county in the country, has less than 5km of tarmac road.

EMPLOYMENT

Locals interviewed by the Saturday Nation further said they were yet to benefit from thousands of jobs they had been promised following construction of the Port of Lamu.

President Kenyatta and Mr Ruto’s rallies in Kilifi were marred by shouts of ‘unga’ (maize flour), with the crowd at Karisa Maitha grounds insisting the subsidised product was yet to reach the county.

The Coast has become a major battle ground for JP and Nasa since it has no presidential candidate.

Although all governors of six Coast counties were elected on Nasa affiliate parties tickets, JP has been emboldened by the defection of Mr Mvurya and Mr Dado to the ruling coalition.

A number of MPs have also switched allegiance from ODM to JP, a thing the Opposition has dismissed as inconsequential as most elected MPs are usually not re-elected.