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Citizen Weekly

Sunday 17 May 2015

I want to be senator not MP, says Kajembe

Former Changamwe MP Ramadhan Kajembe says his ambition is to become a senate representative for Mombasa county and not a member of parliament.
The former assistant minister made the clarification last week following speculations that he planned to make a comeback as an MP for Changamwe constituency. He thanked Changamwe voters for wanting him back and serve them as MP.
He however told his supporters in Changamwe not to worry since if he succeeds in becoming senator they stood to benefit from his enlarged leadership mandate. He said as a veteran politician it was important to expand his political territory in the county.
“I was a civic leader in Mombasa for 15 years, I have been an MP for Changamwe for 15 years. I now want to serve the people of Mombasa as a senator for one term and then i retire from politics,” he said
Kajembe ran  for the same seat in the last general elections on an ODM ticket but victory eluded him. His supporters believe he was rigged out by people who did not want an experienced politician near them for fear of being eclipsed politically. Hassan Omar was handed the victory instead.
And there is an ongoing realignment for 2017 in which Omar is to be dumped in favour of Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir.  Observers however say, Nassir may have miscalculated his political steps.
Unlike in Mvita where he enjoys a family name, in the other constituencies, the going may be tough. Even in his Mvita backyard a big percentage of the population are a Wajomvu, who belong to Kajembe’s clan. Apart from this, Nassir would not fare well in places like Jomvu, Likoni and Changamwe constituencies which are perceived strongholds of Kajembe.
Kajembe’s other political strength is that he is a darling of Mombasa’s upcountry voters whom he has assisted over the years. However, it is not clear how he intends to deal with the monster of rigging elections which his supporters blame for his loss in the last polls.

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