Mombasa Governor Aspirant Raises Sh27 Million in Two Hours in Bid to Defeat Joho

In a bid to unseat Mombasa governor Ali Hassan Joho, Nyali Member of Parliament Hezron Awiti raised Sh27 million in two hours during a fundraiser to oil his campaigns.

The fundraiser, held at Tamarind Hotenl in Mombasa, attracted more than 100 guests with tickets going between Sh500,000 and Sh1,000,000.

"Mombasa is a commercial hub and needs new leadership that will create conducive environment for businesses to thrive," Awiti told guests during the fundraiser.

The billionaire businessman is expecting more funds from his supporters and is mainly banking on the Mombasa business community to win the prestigious seat.

The Democratic Party leader ditched Kalonzo led Wiper Party after it emerged that the party preferred Mombasa Senator Hassan Omar as its candidate for the Mombasa seat.

Awiti, who hails from Nyanza region, is mainly banking on non-local communities living in Mombasa for the top seat, as they have been neglected by Hassan Joho’s administration for the last five years.

Mombasa County director of communication, Richard Chacha said that governor Joho will be holding a similar fundraiser after Ramadan ends.

The Mombasa governor race will be a battle of some of the country’s richest individuals, with billionaire Suleiman Shabhal, who the Jubilee party candidate vowing to spend all he can to scoop the seat.

Awiti, Joho and Shabhal are some of individuals who control large stakes of business in the Mombasa port, which is the largest entry point of goods from abroad in the east African region, while Omar is said to have received huge sums of foreign funding to oil his campaigns.