Mombasa UDA stalwarts want State appointments

Mombasa

Tuesday, August 15, 2023

KNA by Sadik Hassan

Former UDA MCAs candidates who unsuccessfully vied in Mombasa are appealing to be considered for state appointments in the Kenya Kwanza administration.

The members under the Voice of Mombasa caucus claimed they had a close working relationship with President Ruto during the electioneering period and wanted to strengthen the bond to foster national development and the realization of the bottom-up economic transformation.

At a press briefing held at the iconic elephant tusks, Voice of Mombasa Spokesperson Michael Nato said “We have sat down and we have raised our voices for the President to know what we had agreed with him,” 

Nato disclosed that they have held intense discussions on the fate of the former candidates with the Secretary General of the ruling party Cleophas Malala.

“The president is a gentleman we had agreed on a number of issues. We have drafted a memorandum which has outlined a number of issues,” said Nato. “Some of our colleagues have not considered and their silence should not be misconstrued to mean they were happy,”

Some of the notable figures in UDA who have not secured state appointments Nato said are former Deputy Governor candidate Selina Maitha, Changamwe MP candidate Malila Mutuku and a host of MCAs. UDA only won four out of 30 wards seats in Mombasa.

“We have decided to share our grievances with the President himself because we know the Head of State was a gentleman, he assured us that the cake is big and will be shared with all of us. It must be well understood that there are candidates with us here who sacrificed their resources some are even bankrupt,” said Nato.

The caucus has prepared a memorandum that will be delivered to the President's Political Advisor Karisa Nzai, EALA MP Hassan Omar, Nyali MP Mohamed Ali, and SG Cleophas Malala before finally being handed it to the President.

The caucus said they have not lost love for the President and they are at the forefront of championing his administration's agenda in the grassroots.

“It’s imperative to be given support and morale for the things we agreed with the President. Item number one in the memorandum is about jobs. These former candidates really need jobs because they serve as testimonies on the grounds,” said Nato.

On party wrangles in Mombasa which tested UDA unity in Mombasa following aborted members meeting in June convened by SG Malala, Nato said they have ironed out their differences and are now working as a team.

The SG was urged to convene another meeting in Mombasa to plan the party activities ahead of the grassroots elections which were slated for August but were postponed awaiting election rules.

The former candidates expressed their satisfaction with Kenya Kwanza's first-year performance saying the country is heading in the right trajectory and farmers are expecting a boon harvest as a result of government intervention in the agriculture sector.

Courtesy ; K. N. A