President Uhuru Kenyatta has over the last years mastered the art of politics - cultivating many friends and creating some political enemies along the way.
In a country where political friendships wither faster than winter wheat, President Kenyatta’s has over the years maintained certain personal and political friendships since his entry into national politics in 2002.
One such ally is Taveta Member of Parliament Naomi Shaban who has weathered many storms over the past four General Elections in solidarity with Uhuru.
Shaban, a dental surgeon by profession, joined elective politics in 2001 when she contested the Taveta parliamentary seat in a by-election occasioned by the resignation of Basil Criticos in May 2001.
At around the same time, former President Daniel Arap Moi had kickstarted the famous Project that saw Uhuru nominated to Parliament in 2001 and quickly appointed to the Cabinet to serve as Cabinet Secretary (Minister) for Local Government.
Both Shaban and the young Kenyatta served in Parliament under Kanu and have been on the same side in every general election since then.
In 2007, Shaban stuck with Kanu and became one of a handful of MPs who survived the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) wave in the Coast region.
For her loyalty, she was rewarded with a Cabinet position - becoming Minister of Special Programmes in President Mwai Kibaki’s second term.
As Uhuru was preparing for the 2013 presidential run, one of the areas of criticism he faced was the massive land parcels held in the country - particularly in Taveta where he admitted that his family owned 33,000 acres of land.
The family later decided to share some of the land with squatters who had been living on the land for years - and as proof of Uhuru’s trust with Shaban - she was picked to coordinate the resettlement.
It was no wonder that in 2013, she became the only MP elected on a The National Alliance (TNA) ticket in Taita Taveta County after the ODM wave wiped most parts of the coast region.
In April 2017, just four months before the General Election, the friendship between the duo was tested after Shaban announced that she would be quitting the Jubilee Party, which was led by the Head of State.
Shaban expressed her displeasure with how some party officials sitting at the Jubilee Headquarters were handling the Jubilee nominations. She accused a senior party official of meddling with the affairs of Taveta Constituency.
However, two days later, after the President's intervention, she rescinded her decision and returned to Jubilee. Shaban won the Jubilee preliminaries, despite whispered concerns of plans to rig her out of the party ticket, and went on to win the General Election.
In 2018, Uhuru appointed Shaban's niece, Kanze Dena, as State House spokesperson - replacing Manoah Esipisu who was reassigned to serve as Kenya's High Commissioner in London.
Kanze was one of the most accomplished journalists in the country with an admirable portfolio in her own right. It is however possible that being the niece of one of the President's most trusted allies helped her chances.
Shaban, now the longest-serving MP from the coast region, is championing ODM Leader Raila Odinga's presidential campaign although she has not spoken on whether she will be defending her seat in the August poll.
