Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka has reportedly identified four potential candidates to replace Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho once his second five-year term comes to an end in 2022.
According to The Star, Wiper Party is considering Kisauni MP Ali Mbogo, politician Suleiman Shahbal, former Mombasa county secretary Francis Thoya and former Nyali MP Hezron Awiti.
On Monday, Kalonzo chaired a meeting at the Tamarind Hotel in Mombasa attended by the party officials including Mbogo, Kipevu MCA Faith Mwende, Wiper national secretary for religious affairs Sheikh Twaha Omar, Kalonzo’s son and EALA MP Kennedy Musyoka, among others.
Kalonzo reportedly told his party members that he was willing to go all out to support the party’s candidate and ensure that they clinch the governor seat.
Shahbal ran unsuccessfully for Mombasa governor seat twice. In 2013, he contested under the Wiper party before decamping to Jubilee Party in 2015, which he used to vie for the gubernatorial position.
However, after failing in the Mombasa governor bid, Shahbal was made the Kentrade chair by the Jubilee administration.
On the other hand, Awiti, who contested and won the Nyali seat on a Wiper ticket after decamping from ODM in 2013, had wanted the party ticket to vie for Mombasa governor in 2017 but the party favoured former Mombasa Senator Hassan Omar instead.
Awiti later formed his own party, the Vibrant Democratic Party (VDP), through which he contested unsuccessfully for the governor seat.
As for Mbogo, despite his short time in Parliament, Kalonzo has reportedly been impressed by his development record and wants someone of his calibre to represent the party in the gubernatorial contest in 2022.
Likewise, Thoya, who boasts of a good grassroots network with Mijikenda voters (who are the majority in Mombasa) was allegedly kicked out of Joho’s administration because of his political ambitions.
So far, other leaders who have been linked with Joho's seat include Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir, Mombasa speaker Aharub Khatri, Likoni MP Mishi Mboko and the former Mombasa Senator.
