• The by-election had been set for June 25 but has since been postponed indefinitely.
Campaigns for the Msamweni by-election have now shifted to online platforms.
The seat fell vacant following the death of MP Suleiman Dori on March 9.
The coronavirus pandemic has forced the government to ban social gatherings and has direct people to stay at home, meaning aspirants for the seat cannot go out for campaigns.
The seat fell vacant following the death of MP Suleiman Dori on March 9.
The by-election had been set for June 25 but has since been postponed indefinitely.
Kwale county Finance executive Bakari Sebe, one of the aspirants, on Thursday told the Star it is hard for them to sell their agenda and thus have to be innovative.
“This coronavirus has given us a challenge. But the postponement has given us more time so as to lay our foundations,” said Sebe.
He is joining elective politics for the first time but says he has been in politics since 1992.
“Right now, I am identifying key influential people who I can target and use them to sell my agenda. We are also using social media platforms,” Sebe, who is seeking the Jubilee ticket, said.
Sharlet Mariam, another new entrant eying the seat on an ODM ticket, has been using bloggers and “keyboard warriors” to sell her agenda.
“We are using social media to talk to people. I am lucky because I was born in Ukunda and the ground already knows me. It becomes easier for me,” the businesswoman and activist said.
“We are waiting for the IEBC to blow the whistle before we go all out. Right now, we are only serving the people through food donations and other necessary [interventions] to fight this coronavirus,” Mariam said.
On the other hand, veteran politicians are adamant that they already have the ground and only need to activate it, which they are now doing through social media
“With the coronavirus, any candidate who was not known before has no time to popularise themselves now,” ODM Kwale branch official Nicholas Zani said.
“Social media is only to remind people. We have met the people before and we have their trust,” said Zani.
Zani stood for the Kwale Senate seat in 2013 and 2017 and was ODM chief Raila Odinga’s chief campaigner in the county.
He comes from the Zani family, which votes in Msambweni and Matuga constituencies, but the generation traditionally comes from Mwaembe in the former area.
Zani comes from Ramisi in Msambweni and is pushing for a mlolongo system in ODM primaries.
“The last time I participated in the primaries in 2017, my votes were burnt,” he told the Star on Thursday.
He is battling it out with Mariam, Omar Boga and Feisal Dori for the ODM ticket.
Of the three competitors, only Boga has been elected before, having won the Bongwe-Gombato ward seat in 2013.
He has been using “keyboard warriors” to campaign and fight off his competitors.
Feisal, a relative of the deceased MP, said he has been derailed by the ban on social gatherings.
“We now don’t do campaigns,” he told the Star.
He said using social media is hard because there is no touch with the people. “But there are no other means, so what do we do? We just have to cope,” Feisal said.
Other candidates eying the seat include Bashir Kilalo (Jubilee), Shee Mahmoud (Wiper), Egla Nasoro, Lihganje Mwakaonje (UGM), and Maree wa Mwachai (Kanu).
Political analysts say campaigning on social media has less impact, if one is not already known on the ground.
Mwakuja Mrombo, for instance, says Kwale is a region whose people want to see their leaders on the ground.
“They don’t believe much in social media,” Mrombo said.
Msabweni has four wards which are Bongwe-Gombato with approximately 17,500 voters, Ukunda with about 21,500 voters, Kinondo 11,014 voters and Ramisi with 18,569 voters, making a total of about 68,522 voters.
The most populous wards are Ukunda and Bongwe-Gombato, which are mostly cosmopolitan, but with relatively more upcountry voters than indigenous ones.
This makes the two wards the most sought after.