LIKONI

HON. MASOUD MWAHIMA, MP (ODM)


Immediate former MP: Hon. Suleman Shakombo, EGH,
Minister of State for National Heritage

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Kanu feels the heat at the Coast

By NJUGUNA MUTONYA
DAILY NATION
Kisauni and Likoni
Tuesday, May 7, 2002

Always a political hotbed, Mombasa is set to become even more volatile this year. Consider the developments of the past week or so, which offer a vivid glimpse of what lies in store.In the space of a week, we have seen the awesome power play that ended with the replacement of Mayor Masoud Mwahima at Town Hall – a move unabashedly orchestrated by Mombasa Kanu boss Shariff Nassir.

But Mr Mwahima proved no easy quarry. After a series of run-ins with the law, he defiantly confirmed that he would run for the Likoni parliamentary seat on a Ford People ticket – fuelling the anger of Mr Nassir, who then resorted to warning Ford People presidential candidate Simeon Nyachae against visiting Mombasa.
The stage has been set for a duel of the giants. To start with, there has always been the misconception that Mombasa District, the epicentre of politics in Coast Province, is a Kanu zone.Facts on the ground present a different picture. With the first multi-party election of 1992, Kanu won only the Mvita seat, where Mr Nassir barely managed to scrape through. Likoni and Kisauni were won by Ford Kenya through Mr Khalif Mwavumo and Prof Rashid Mzee, widely believed to be a representative of the unregistered Islamic Party of Kenya. Changamwe went to the Democratic Party's Kennedy Kiliku.

In 1997, Kanu managed to recover Changamwe through Mr Ramadhan Kajembe, but the Opposition retained Kisauni and Likoni through Mr Emmanuel Karissa Maitha of the DP and Mr Rashid Shakombo of the Shirikisho Party. All the indications are that Kanu will have an uphill task trying to regain a foothold in Kisauni and Likoni, while Mr Nassir's long reign in Mvita is facing a tacit challenge within Kanu from popular former Mombasa Mayor Najib Balala.

Though Mr Balala insists that he will be going for the Kanu ticket, that might be difficult given Mr Nassir's tight grip on the local party machinery.If unfairly denied the Kanu nomination, Mr Balala would be eagerly snapped up by either Mr Mwai Kibaki's DP or Mr Nyachae's Ford People, both of which are having their own quiet sideshow in the struggle to challenge Kanu's dominance of Coast politics.Mr Nyachae has made recent forays into Mombasa and further south into Kwale District, and may have earned incalculable mileage with the ongoing saga over the arrest and subsequent removal of Mr Mwahima as mayor of Mombasa.

Declarations by Mr Nassir that he had "banned" Mr Nyachae from Mombasa only served to depict a Kanu and government machinery panicking over the inroads he might be making.Confirmation that Mr Mwahima would be contesting the Likoni seat on the Ford People ticket seems to have been the main catalyst for his arrest on charges of issuing a bad cheque, which was followed by his removal as mayor on the strength of a decree by Local Government Minister Uhuru Kenyatta.

Likoni has been in Opposition hands since 1992, and Kanu's hopes of capturing the seat seem to hinge on wooing Mr Shakombo, who has always responded in a lukewarm manner to overtures from the ruling party. The trouble is that Mr Shakombo may be the sole Shirikisho MP but may not necessarily be in a position to move the party into a merger or alliance with Kanu.Besides, Kanu has its own well-grounded operatives in Likoni, who would be loath to see the ticket handed to a "stranger". Kanu's great hope in Likoni would seem to be Mr Hisham Mwidau, son of Mr Abdallah Ndovu Mwidau – the popular and pragmatic leader, whose name still evokes the reverence that the young Mwidau is keen to exploit.

Mr Mwidau missed the Likoni seat last election by a mere 300 votes. He still believes he would have bagged the seat if his half-brother, former MP Abdulkadir Mwidau, had not also vied for the seat on the Ford Kenya ticket. Abdulkadir was elected as a replacement for his father but lost the seat in 1992. Mr Mwahima's candidacy confuses issues for the Mwidaus and Mr Shakombo.

If Kanu settles for Mr Shakombo, the Opposition will no doubt get rich pickings from the fall-out – and this is why the Mwahima factor has become extremely tricky for Kanu.In Kisauni, Mr Maitha is exuding confidence. There is no question that he is a populist politician seen by the Miji Kenda as their most solid bulwark against perceived domination by the wealthy business and political classes of Arab origin.

Mr Mwahima has sent out signals that he will also seek to capitalise on the race card. He is blaming his removal as mayor to politicians with Arab roots keen to consolidate their hold on Mombasa politics.
In Mvita, the big question is whether Mr Balala can send veteran Nassir into a well-deserved retirement or whether the wily politician will retain his grassroots magic.Mr Nassir is playing his cards close to his chest, but there has been talk that he may be contemplating retirement to pave the way for Mr Abdul Swamad (also known as Boss) in Mvita.Mr Balala has moved to the ground in Majengo, using women's groups and youths in what is seen as the greatest challenge to Mr Nassir since 1992, when the Islamic Party of Kenya almost unseated him.

Changamwe constituency is a mixed bag, with the Kamba vote dominant, but facing a threat now from the Kanu-NDP merger, which throws a solid Luo vote in favour of the ruling party.The Kamba dominated the constituency almost since independence until 1997, when Mr Kiliku lost to Kanu's Ramadhan Kajembe. Mr Kiliku subsequently crossed over to the Labour Party of Kenya, but proved last year that he was still a force to reckon with when he was elected secretary-general of the powerful Dockworkers Union, despite spirited government attempts to lock him out. What is causing even more shock waves now is that he has publicly declared his enrolment in Mr Nyachae's People's Coalition.

It is for reasons such as these that Kanu sees Mr Nyachae as a real threat. If indeed he is, the casualties would not only be Kanu but also the DP and the National Alliance for Change, in which it is grouped with Ford Kenya and the National Party of Kenya.
For Kanu, the ideal scenario might be a fight in Mombasa between Mr Nyachae and the Alliance, leaving the ruling party to scrape through on a split Opposition vote.Meanwhile, a number of other factors will come into play. One is the activities of a band of extremely wealthy Coastal businessmen, mostly of Arab or Asian origin, to whom nearly every Mombasa politician, particularly in Kanu, is indebted.

Mr Nassir has long endured a kind of love-hate relationship with the businessmen, who also have their own internal turf wars, but of late the majority of them seem to be rallying round him. They will certainly support Kanu, and figures such as nominated MP Rashid Sajjad, his estranged business partner M.S. Bawazir and Lamu-based Twahir Sheikh Said (TSS) will ensure that favoured Kanu candidates have overflowing campaign chests. Another important factor is the home-grown opposition, which expresses itself either through radical activism, Islamic extremism, or both.

In 1992, the unregistered Islamic Party of Kenya caused shock waves in Mombasa politics. It secured the Kisauni seat and nearly routed Mr Nassir in Mvita with its candidates running on Ford Kenya tickets.
Then there was Sheikh Khalid Balala, an eloquent and charismatic street preacher, whose fierce tirades against the government found ready audience in Mombasa and elsewhere.The IPK is all but gone, but not the spirit, as radical clerics continue to take their anti-establishment messages across the Island.

Groups such as Muslims for Human Rights (Muhuri), the Council of Imams and Preachers, the Mombasa branch of the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims and the Friends of Al Aqsar continue to play a potent role in Mombasa politics. The problem is that they have no single political vehicle on which to deliver their agenda. Some of the more prominent activists have been associated with the defunct Muungano wa Mageuzi movement, but are now leaning towards Mr Nyachae's People's Coalition. Yet another lot is consorting with the rival National Alliance for Change.


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LIKONI IS A COMPLICATED RACE FOR KANU

By PATRICK MAYOYO
DAILY NATION
Tuesday, May 7, 2002

The war of words between suspended Mombasa Mayor Masoud Mwahima and Kanu strongman Shariff Nassir has thrust Likoni constituency into the spotlight. Likoni has emerged as the entrance of Ford People presidential candidate Simeon Nyachae into Coast Province and Mr Mwahima as his main co-ordinator in the region.

He has already said he will contest the seat on the party's ticket. But what muddies the waters in Likoni more is the announcement by incumbent MP Rashid Shakombo of the Shirikisho Party of Kenya that he will defend the seat on a Kanu ticket. The move by the sole Shirikisho MP sets the stage for a bruising battle between him and the 1997 Kanu candidate, Mr Hisham Mwidau.

Defection

Mr Shakombo won the Likoni seat on a Shirikisho ticket when he defected from Kanu after losing the nomination to Mr Mwidau. Now, Mr Shakombo says after consultations with the electorate, he has decided to move back to Kanu. Yesterday, he and 100 members defected to the ruling party and received by President Moi at Kanu headquarters in Nairobi. But Shirikisho officials in Mombasa announced they had expelled him and would meet in two weeks' to ratify the expulsion at a national delegates' conference. Officials, led by secretary-general Yusuf Abubakar, said the defection did not mean that the party had been dissolved.He explained they had expelled Mr Shakombo because he engaged in activities against the party manifesto.
"We deem his defection as inconsequential as far as SPK is concerned. The party activities will continue as normal," Mr Abubakar said. This places Mr Shakombo in a precarious position as he is depending on his joining Kanu to get nomination on a silver platter. If he joins Kanu as an individual, he will have to battle it out with Mr Mwidau for the Kanu ticket.

This might not be an appealing prospect. But the activities of Mr Shakombo pale into insignificance compared to the heat generated by Mr Mwahima's entry. Popularity His popularity has soared since he was ousted from the mayor's parlour in controversial circumstances. It has turned him into a hero of sorts among his Digo people and anybody linked to his misfortunes is being viewed, not just as Mr Mwahima's enemy but also as the entire community's foe. Mr Mwahima has, in fact, adroitly moved to capitalise on this and blames his woes on powerful and wealthy Arabs who "want to continue their domination in Mombasa".

Though Mr Shakombo has denied a hand in the problems facing Mr Mwahima, he is known to have good working relations with Mr Nassir. This could deal him a big blow in the coming elections. Mr Nassir is said to be the force behind Mr Shakombo's defection to Kanu, a move that has not been received well by Mr Mwidau's supporters. Although only Mr Mwahima, Mr Shakombo and Mr Mwidau have declared interest in the Likoni seat, there are other likely candidates. Among those mentioned are former MP Khalifa Mwavumo, who lost in 1997, Mr Sudi Mwakambwira, said to be eyeing the seat on the Labour Party of Kenya ticket, and Mr Salim Mwakutsuma, who contested on a Social Democratic Party ticket in 1997.

Until 1997, Likoni politics was dominated by the rivalry between Mr Mwavumo and Ndovu Mwidau, who died in 1988. He was succeeded by his son, Mr Abdulkadir Mwidau, who in turn lost to Mr Mwavumo in 1992. During the single party days, MPs were elected on the strength of their personality, but this has changed with the introduction of multi-partyism.Since 1992, the constituency has been firmly in Oppostion hands. Mr Mwavumo won in 1992 on a Ford Kenya ticket, but lost to Mr Shakombo in 1997. Shirikisho is a small Coast-based party that advocates nationalism and is opposed to perceived economic domination of the province by "outsiders".

In the run up to the 1997 General Election, clashes erupted in Likoni and spread to other parts of the province. The violence resulted in an exodus of large numbers of upcountry people, mainly the Luo, who had been crucial in Mr Mwavumo's victory in 1992. Kanu's loss in 1997 was attributed not so much to the violence, but to the sibling rivalry between the Mwidaus – Hisham and his half-brother Abdulkadir.
Abdulkadir had failed to win the Kanu ticket and crossed over to the NDP. He finished third. It might be a relief to Hisham that Abdulkadir, who is said to be living in the US, has not shown interest in the seat. Thus the main focus could be on Mr Mwahima, the councillor of Shika Adabu Ward. "My people appreciate my efforts in ensuring that a fire station that will also be a training centre for fire-fighters in East and Central Africa was built in my ward," he said. But his entry to parliamentary politics is, of course, of much more importance than civic politics. Mr Mwahima was in the news earlier this year when he sat the secondary school examination examination and scored straight Es. But a Form Four certificate will make him meet the conditions to vie for a parliamentary seat.

He says although his opponents point at his limited education, he has demonstrated that he is capable of championing the rights of Likoni people. "You do not need a degree to know that people need good roads, clean water, electricity, schools and employment. If elected, these are the things I will fight for," Mr Mwahima said. As for Mr Shakombo, it is his record that will be under scrutiny. The squatter problem is a big issue in Likoni, and he feels he has handled it adequately.

"I have managed to have most land in Likoni adjudicated and many of my constituents now have allotment letters and are in the process of getting title deeds," he said.