First Bajuni female pilot eyes MP seat in August poll

Lamu Woman Representative Ruweida Obbo, has declared that she will vie for Lamu East parliamentary seat, a constituency that has never been represented by a woman.

With only six months to the August 9 General Election, Ms Obbo popularly known as ‘Captain Ruweida,’ has been in door to door campaigns in a bid to unseat the incumbent Sharif Athman Ali ‘Mzalendo’ of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA).

Mr Ali is serving his second term having been first elected in 2013.

In the 2007 General Election, former Lamu Woman Representative Shakila Abdalla, became the first woman to try her luck for the seat but lost to former Lamu County Assembly Speaker, Mohamed Salim Hashim.

MPs who have so far served in the constituency include Abubakar Madhubuti, Mzamil Omar, Abu Chiaba, Mohamed Salim Hashim all of Kanu, and now UDA’s Mr Ali.

The constituency majorly occupied by Muslims, mostly Swahili of Bajuni origin, is known for male chauvinism, a key reason behind having only male MPs over the years.

Ms Obbo, however, says she will not allow culture and gender cards to cloud her political ambitions.

Lamu East native

Speaking to nation.africa, Ms Obbo stressed that the MP position will enable her to deal directly with education and security matters that have been major issues in Lamu for years.

"I urge my people to elect me to help end the marginalization that Lamu has been placed in for a long time," said Ms Obbo.

The Lamu East native is the first Bajuni woman to study and qualify as a pilot. She has worked for several airlines including Mombasa Air Safari and Euronav.

Ms Obbo made her political debut in 2013 on a TNA ticket.

She vied for the Lamu County woman representative position but lost to Shakila Abdalla. She, however, defeated Ms Abdalla of Wiper Democratic Movement in the 2017 General Election on a Jubilee Party ticket.

Ms Obbo says she has opted for the MP position to give a chance to other Lamu women to try their luck at the woman rep position.

Her manifesto for the MP seat seeks to empower women and youth by ensuring everyone gets quality education, eradicate poverty and bring unity and peaceful coexistence among the tribes in the county.

“I have always told women that everyone has the ability to lead this county and country. Let’s end this ancient chauvinistic culture of degrading women in leadership. Time has come for women, particularly here in Lamu, to rise up to the occasion,” she said.

Strong following

Other aspirants who have declared interest in the Lamu East seat apart from Mr Ali who will be defending his seat, is ODM politician Shekuwe Kahale.

Mr Ali says he still has some projects his people of Lamu East Constituency want him to accomplish apart from the completed ones.

Mr Kahale, famously known as ‘Mwanati’ also expressed confidence that he has a strong following in the constituency.

He contested for the Lamu East seat in 2013 and 2017 and emerged second.

“I will be on the ballot. I won’t relent despite having missed the chance in 2013 and 2017. I am ready to fight it out with any of my opponents and win the seat come 2022,” Mr Mwanati told nation.africa.

Ms Obbo and her male rivals are battling to get the support of the more than 18,000 registered voters in Lamu East Constituency.

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