Muyoti banks on Leopards knowledge to plot Ingwe downfall Football

Adhiambo set for Lionesses return in Africa Sevens redemption bid Rugby

The Suleiman Shahbal gubernatorial campaign in Mombasa has got a boost after a section of student leaders from various tertiary institutions in the county threw their weight behind him.

Shahbal is on a campaign blitz to unseat incumbent Abdulswamad Nassir.

Ever since he on September 9 publicly rejected President William Ruto’s similarly public plea for him to quit the race, the Mombasa businessman-cum-politician has increased his political activities in Mombasa.

He has been wooing various groups including the clergy, student leaders, civil society, opinion shapers, teachers, among others in a bid to sell his agenda for the county.

Drawing from his business experience, Shahbal’s message has been that the county needs a manager, not a politician at the helm, for it to be successful.

“It is time we take this county from politicians to managers. Competent management can rescue Mombasa. We cannot leave this city to rot and continue leaving its future to politicians.

“Mombasa needs managers who can deliver, fix what is broken and move the city forward,” he said at the launch of the Kenya Property Developers Association (KPDA) Coast Chapter in Mombasaon Friday.

On Monday, student leaders drawn from the Technical University of Mombasa, Kenya Medical Training College, Kenya Coast National Polytechnic, Kenya Methodist University, Mt Kenya University among others, said Shahbal is the right person to steer the county to prosperity.

TUM president emeritus Joseph Oloo, who is in his fifth and final year of his medical engineering degree course, said

The student leaders, members of the TND (The New Democrats Party) Comrades Chapter, said the Mombasa youth must no longer be spectators in the governance of their own county.

“We are not merely crowds to be mobilized during campaigns. Neither are we tools of mobilization as the current regime takes us.

“We are the generation that must sit at the table, participate in decision-making and shape the future of Mombasa,” Oloo said.

He said the leadership of the county must be chosen by the people of Mombasa and not be imposed on them or predetermined by the supposed powers that be.

“Our county must be our voice and our decision,” he said.

This comes as the Shahbal campaign comes under severe attacks from Nassir’s campaign team and that of UDA secretary general Hassan Omar, who is also on a campaign blitz of his own.

Omar said being a businessman is not akin to being a governor, saying a political office needs a politician at the helm.

“Don’t think starting a bank qualifies you to be the CEO of a county,” Omar said.

The UDA secretary general said Mombasa needs collaboration between the count and the national government, something that would be easier with a member of the national ruling party at the helm.

UDA is the ruling party in Kenya currently.

The former Kenya National Commission on Human Rights vice chair has recently been building a global network of his own, owing to his position as UDA SG, which has offered him opportunities to travel the world and meet world leaders.

He says a global network would help him bring in more investors into the county, with Mombasa having the potential to become Kenya’s industrial hub.

“It just needs the right leadership,” Omar says.

Governor Nassir has also been using his camaraderie with President William Ruto to bring meaningful development to Mombasa.

On Monday, at Mtopanga, he said his focus is to work for the people of Mombasa and not engaging in verbal wars with other politicians.

“The time for politics will come. For now, my focus is on doing the job you elected me to do,” he said.

He said Mombasa residents will Friday receive 4,300 title deeds as President Ruto will be culminating his Coastal tour.

He said this is another step in addressing the long-standing land injustices and giving families the security of ownership.

“Ours is less talk and more work. Those who are busy laughing at us now will find themselves crying next year when the people of Mombasa choose leaders based on their work done,” Nassir said.

He said residents of Kwa Punda, Mwakirunge, Miritini, Kwa Hatsa, Mikindani, Chaani, Mafisini, among others will be receiving their titles on Friday.

After Friday, every month, new titles will be issued to residents in different parts of the county.

“My plan is to ensure that by 2027, we will have distributed 30,000 title deeds to Mombasa residents,” Nassir said in Kadzandani on Monday.

The student leaders on Monday said the student fraternity in Mombasa, especially those living in Kisauni and Nyali subcounties, has been losing their belongings including laptops and phones to thugs.

“It is unfortunate that this insecurity song has been sung for years but it persists, and our comrades keep on getting attacked, their lives at risk.

They called for improved security, water and sanitation headache addressed, waste and drainage problems solved, healthcare services looked into, among others.

“We want a Mombasa where merit replaces favouritism, competence replaces mediocrity and opportunity replaces exclusion,” Oloo said.

Mwahanje Mwangale, a Mt Kenya University student leader, said they are tired of begging for opportunities for the youth.

He said they are rallying behind Shahbal because he has shown the interest of the common mwananchi and that development in Mombasa is possible.

INSTANT ANALYSIS:

Traditionally, the student population in Mombasa has provided a rich campaign platform for governor candidates. Their ability to rally their fellow students behind candidates has been a vital cog in several politicians’ bids. The student fraternity provides the crowds, which please the eyes of politicians, and have sometimes translated into votes through influence.