Outgoing Mombasa Senator Hassan Omar and Governor Hassan Joho at a past event. [Photo/ nc.co.ke]
The race for Mombasa governor pitting ODM's Hassan Joho and Wiper's Hassan Omar was seen as one of the biggest political duels in the country considering that the two are influential political figures in the county.
However, the August 8 poll confirmed that Omar, an outspoken lawyer, is no match to Joho in the politics of Mombasa after suffering a humiliating defeat. Joho, the combative politician, who plays politics of appealing to the masses' emotions, has stamped his authority in the region's politics as Omar now fights for his political life.After the final IEBC tally, Joho had garnered over 210,000 votes compared to Omar's over 40,000 votes, a confirmation that there was never a contest between the two in the first place.Omar's biggest undoing in his campaigns according to analysts was trying to be the bigger man. But for Joho, he became the people's darling when he stood as a public defender when he engaged the State in endless fights.According to analysts, the outgoing Senator continually painted himself as more educated, intelligent and often engaged in mudslinging campaigns as his rival endeared himself to the masses through fighting Jubilee. The rivalry between the two political bigwigs reached fever pitch during NASA's last rally in Mombasa when Joho's supporters tried to eject the Wiper Secretary General from the rally.Omar's misery in his quest for Mombasa governor was compounded when he came behind Jubilee's Suleiman Shahbal, who beat him by over 20,000 votes, a confirmation that his political strategy backfired against a strong and smart opponent.