Deputy President William Ruto’s Coast tour appears to have borne fruit, after former Kisauni legislator Anania Mwaboza dropped his bid for the governor’s seat in favour of businessman Suleiman Shahbal.
Mwaboza will now be Shahbal’s running mate in the August polls in a deal brokered by Ruto after top-level consultations which took place on Sunday night.
Shahbal has also been endorsed as sole candidate for Jubilee Party and he will now face ODM candidate Governor Hassan Joho who defeated him in the 2013 election by marginal votes.
Mwaboza, another Joho’s old rival enjoys the support of Mijikenda community whose leaders have fallen out with Joho over alleged discrimination.
He defeated Joho during the Kisauni by-election after the death of former Cabinet minister Karisa Maitha in 2004. Mwaboza is a close ally of Ruto while Shahbal enjoys support from President Uhuru Kenyatta. During the 2013 election, Joho garnered 132,583 votes against Shahbal’s 94,905.
Addressing party aspirants yesterday, Ruto said after extensive consultation, the Jubilee leadership had resolved to unite the two leaders and expressed confidence that unity of the duo will form a formidable force to help Jubilee consolidate more votes in Mombasa and the entire Coastal region.
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