Only one woman in race for MCA in Lamu’s Shella ward
What you need to know:
- The seat fell vacant after the area’s elected representative, Mr Azhar Ali Mbarak, contested and won the Lamu County Assembly Speaker position last September.
- Four candidates, including Ms Saamiya, commonly known as Saamiya British, of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), are lined up to compete for the MCA vacancy.
"I am not deterred despite being the only woman contesting for the Shella Ward MCA seat in this week’s by-election. In fact, I am the first female aspirant to contest for the position.
"Every time there is an election, men have always been the only ones coming out to vie for the seat. I want to change the old perception that only men can. Yes, women, as well, can."
These are the words of Saamiya Mohamed Abduljabar, a 39-year-old mother of four who is battling it out with three men in the Shella ward by-election scheduled for Thursday, January 5, 2023.
The seat fell vacant after the area’s elected representative, Mr Azhar Ali Mbarak, contested and won the Lamu County Assembly Speaker position last September.
Four candidates, including Ms Saamiya, commonly known as Saamiya British, of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), are lined up to compete for the MCA vacancy.
The others, all men, are Mr Atwa Salim of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), Mr Mohamed Hassan Ali, aka Bablo, of the Amani National Congress (ANC), and Mr Nizar Mohamed of the United Green Movement Party.
Motivation
Speaking to Nation.Africa on Wednesday, Ms Saamiya said her move to vie was entirely driven by residents’ interests. She said past representatives have not done much and failed to solve many perennial problems, ranging from land ownership, and title deeds, to unifying the residents.
Ms Saamiya accused a section of leaders and elders from the ward of focusing on succession politics, which she blamed for stifling development for decades.
Saamiya Mohamed Abduljabar, aka Saamiya British. She is the only woman candidate in the Shella ward by-election in Lamu scheduled for Thursday, January 5, 2023. She is vying on a United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party. The poll has attracted four candidates.
“I know there are people trying to fix the politics of succession in this upcoming by-election, but I want to tell them that it’s not a matter of political succession, but rather mwananchi’s interest. I am not worried as the only woman in the race. I will fight it out till the end,” said Ms Saamiya.
"My advice to the voters is that, let them elect leaders to serve them with dignity rather than looking for selfish individuals who are only up to personal gain. As Saamiya, I am fighting it all alone. I have no backup like my opponents, but I believe in myself and in the voters. I am confident they will elect me as the first-ever Shella ward female representative.”
She appealed to the voters to come out in large numbers come Thursday to vote, urging them to maintain peace before, during, and even after the poll.
Registered voters
The ward has 3,632 registered voters across nine polling stations on Shella and Manda islands.
"Shella voters have been a united people all along. It’s a ward that is cosmopolitan. We have almost all tribes of Kenya residing in Shella, though people have always thought it’s only the Swahili living here. My target is to unite all these tribes if elected MCA,” said Ms Saamiya.
Ms Saamiya was born in Shella in 1984. She went to Shella Primary School then joined Lamu Girls Secondary (1999 and 2002). She has a certificate in computer studies.
Ms Saamiya is a renowned businesswoman who has invested heavily in real estate, particularly in Mpeketoni, Lamu West. She is the owner of the prestigious British Guest House and Restaurant and the British Luxury Cottage, both of which are in Mpeketoni town.
