ASAL CAS Gideon Mung’aro has ditched the Jubilee party and promised to vie for the Kilifi gubernatorial seat on an Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party.
Speaking when he hosted opposition leader Raila Odinga when he visited the family at Dabaso village in Kilifi County to condole, Mr. Mung’aro said he was happy to be back home at the party he co pushed for it together with Tourism CS Najib Balala when ODM was new at the Coast.
“Ï am at home in ODM. While many of you might not understand this, I wa\s among the first people who brought to the eyes of Kilifi people and the Coast in general about ODM. Then it was me and Mr Najib Balala,” Mr. Mung’aro said.
Although he is yet to make the move out of Jubilee officially, the CAS said he was quite sure that the next government will be formed by Mr. Odinga and the ‘Handshake’.
“You don’t have to go far and move around. What we know is that the next government will be formed through the ‘Handshake’ and that is where we should all focus,” he said.
Mr. Mung’aro maintained that he was fit for the gubernatorial seat in 2022 and said that nothing will stop him from succeeding Governor Amason Kingi who is exiting the stage after two regimes in power as the first Governor.
“Don’t be cheated by those who are going around the county spreading lies that they can alleviate poverty and suffering yet we clearly know how the same people are connected to so many problems at the County.
We should focus on good leadership that will transform the county into a land of opportunities,” he said.
In order to win the seat, the CAS is expected to battle it out with Malindi MP Aisha Jumwa, Deputy Governor Gideon Saburi, Assembly Speaker Jimmy Kahindi, Kenyan Ambassador to Tanzania and former Malindi MP Dan Kazungu, Former Kilifi Chief Officer in charge of Agriculture Baha Nguma and businessman Dzombo Mbaru.
In the 2017 General Election, Mr. Mungaro vied for the Kilifi gubernatorial seat on a Jubilee ticket but was floored by the incumbent Governor Amason Kingi. Before he jumped ship to join Jubilee Mr. Mung’aro was serving as the Kilifi North MP from 2013 after winning the seat in an ODM ticket.
He later fell out with Mr. Odinga and decided to stick to President Uhuru Kenyatta s Jubilee party and finally used its ticket to vie for the gubernatorial seat.
“But after the handshake, we decided to work together and I have been consulting widely with Mr. Odinga because we harbor no grudges even after I ditched ODM. That is how politics should be,” he said.
Mr. Odinga welcomed Mr. Mung’aro back to the party and said that if a son misses a step somewhere along the way, the parent has a role to correct that and move on.
“Along the way, he was lost but now he is back home. We should be focusing on the betterment of this country even as the election nears,” said Mr. Odinga.
Two weeks ago, another Jubilee point man at the Coast Mr. Suleiman Shahbal abandoned the party and said he will join the party of his choice.
Mr Shabal has at the recent moment seen to be close to Mr. Odinga even as he seeks to succeed Governor Hassan Joho in Mombasa.
During the 2017 General Election, Mr. Shahbal came second after Governor Joho and has now intensified his campaign to win the seat.
*This article was written by Ramadhan Kambi for Uzalendo News. Email: uzalendonews@gmail.com for News tips and Inquiries.
