Kilifi county leaders have renewed calls for the formation of a regional political party which they argue will promote unity in the region.
Led by Paul Katana the Kaloleni Mp, the leaders who spoke at Tsangatsini Primary School in Kyafungo Ward said that national parties only work to divide the region instead of uniting it.
“The Coast region must come together and come up with one political outfit that will be accepted across the board. We have very many political parties but the region is more divided than ever,” Katana said.
“These parties were formed by few people who had their agenda. This is the right time for us to unite and by 2022, we need to have our own party that will form a coalition with like-minded parties from other regions, “Katana added.
This comes barely a month after the formation of Umoja Summit Party of Kenya, (USPK).
The party which was formed last month is seeking to have 19 positions filled before the beginning of May.
The party has drawn the interest of several leaders among them the former Jubilee party regional interim chair Matano Chengo who has already decamped.
Former Likoni MP Suleiman Shakombo also expressed interest in the newly formed political party however the Kaloleni MP has not commented on whether his faction would join the newly formed party.
Last week, Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi, disagreed with Mombasa governor, Ali Hassan Joho over the ‘Tufe Movement’ which is being spearheaded by the Kilifi governor with an aim of transforming it into a regional political outfit.
“The region has always found itself in the receiving end as political parties take the region for granted. We have seen our leaders being tossed by parties they have sworn allegiance to just because we are in ‘rented’ political vehicles,”Kingi was quoted saying.
However several leaders in the region have pledged their allegiance to national parties with the Mombasa governor Ali Hassan Joho sticking to the Orange Democratic Movement while vocal Malindi MP Aisha Jumwa and her Nyali counterpart Mohamed Ali are seemingly backing the deputy president who is in the Jubilee Party.
