Longserving Mombasa politician Ramadhan Seif Kajembe who vied for the port city’s senate position in the last general elections and lost to Hassan Omar is reportedly scheming for a comeback as Changamwe MP.
Sources have intimated that Kajembe who represented the larger Changamwe constituency for three consecutive terms but decided to quit to contest for the senate slot has reportedly succumbed to pressure from his supporters in Changamwe who have been organising delegations to his Mikindani home to urge him to return to vie for the seat.
The ex-MP’s ardent supporters are reported to have even volunteered to rent a house for the former MP at either Chaani or Port Reitz in the constituency to operate from after he told him them he could not return to Changamwe as his current home was in the new Jomvu constituency.
In the last general elections, Changamwe constituency was split to create Jomvu constituency. Mikindani ward where the MP’s home is based is in the new constituency. His son Seif Ramadhan was an aspirant for MP in the new constituency.
Sources in Changamwe say, Kajembe’s comeback plans have since sent panic in the current MP’s camp. According to observers, Omar Mwinyi the ODM legislator had failed to fit in Kajembe’s political shoes. It is said Kajembe’s down-to- earth demeanour, development record and his generosity had endeared him to many across Mombasa.
Apart from Mwinyi, others who are scared of Kajembe’s move are aspirants for the seat in the last general elections. The Kamba community members who are the majority in the constituency are among those pushing Kajembe to contest.
Instructively, the Kambas in spite of their numerical strength in Changamwe have for the last two decades been unable to vote for one of their own to be MP. The disunited Kambas have always fronted a dozen aspirants each election time. Attempts to unite community members behind one candidate have always backfired.
At the moment, voters are reportedly disgruntled with the leadership of Mwinyi, whom they accuse of discrimination in the allocation of CDF and other projects.
With Kajembe’s financial muscle and a reliable political network especially among the Luo voters, political pundits say, he will be the man to beat.
Sources have intimated that Kajembe who represented the larger Changamwe constituency for three consecutive terms but decided to quit to contest for the senate slot has reportedly succumbed to pressure from his supporters in Changamwe who have been organising delegations to his Mikindani home to urge him to return to vie for the seat.
The ex-MP’s ardent supporters are reported to have even volunteered to rent a house for the former MP at either Chaani or Port Reitz in the constituency to operate from after he told him them he could not return to Changamwe as his current home was in the new Jomvu constituency.
In the last general elections, Changamwe constituency was split to create Jomvu constituency. Mikindani ward where the MP’s home is based is in the new constituency. His son Seif Ramadhan was an aspirant for MP in the new constituency.
Sources in Changamwe say, Kajembe’s comeback plans have since sent panic in the current MP’s camp. According to observers, Omar Mwinyi the ODM legislator had failed to fit in Kajembe’s political shoes. It is said Kajembe’s down-to- earth demeanour, development record and his generosity had endeared him to many across Mombasa.
Apart from Mwinyi, others who are scared of Kajembe’s move are aspirants for the seat in the last general elections. The Kamba community members who are the majority in the constituency are among those pushing Kajembe to contest.
Instructively, the Kambas in spite of their numerical strength in Changamwe have for the last two decades been unable to vote for one of their own to be MP. The disunited Kambas have always fronted a dozen aspirants each election time. Attempts to unite community members behind one candidate have always backfired.
At the moment, voters are reportedly disgruntled with the leadership of Mwinyi, whom they accuse of discrimination in the allocation of CDF and other projects.
With Kajembe’s financial muscle and a reliable political network especially among the Luo voters, political pundits say, he will be the man to beat.
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