ODM loses Msambweni MP seat to DP Ruto ally Feisal Bader

The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) lost the Msambweni MP seat to DP William Ruto’s ally Feisal Abdallah Bader.

Also Read: Former Senator Muthama arrested as chaos erupts at polling station in Msambweni

The independent candidate garnered 15,251 votes against ODM’s Boga Omari’s who got 10,444 votes in the Tuesday by-election.

Feisal Abdallah, who was accompanied by Jubilee MPs allied to Dr. Ruto, was issued with the election certificate early Wednesday morning.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Returning Officer Yusuf Abubakar presented the certificate at Dr Babla Secondary School where vote counting took place.

Feisal’s supporters took to the streets as early as 3am to celebrate the big win.

Hours later, there was a huge traffic snarl up on the Lunga Lunga-Ukunda highway as celebrations continued.

Feisal is the nephew to former Msambweni MP Suleiman Dori who died in March.

Dori, an ODM lawmaker, died at the Aga Khan Hospital in Mombasa where he was undergoing treatment for cancer.

Earlier on Tuesday, former Machakos Senator Muthama was arrested after chaos erupted at the Jomo Kenyatta Primary School polling station.

The station was closed and declared a no-go zone with voters camped outside chanting anti-government and anti-Governor Hassan Joho songs, according to a video seen by Citizen Digital.

Muthama has since been transferred from the polling station, where he was being held, to Mombasa.

The Msambweni by-election was marred by accusations and counter-accusations pitting Feisal’s allies against those of ODM’s Boga.

Bader’s team, among them Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi, claimed that senior police officers in Msambweni – including the OCPD – were transferred at midnight under unclear circumstances.

According to Sudi, the officers were swapped with those from Mombasa, a move he alleged was aimed at creating loopholes in the election process and facilitating rigging in favor of Boga.

During a Press briefing, Sudi who was flanked by fellow MPs Khatib Mwashetani (Lunga Lunga) and Mohammed Ali (Nyali) further accused the new security team of harassing them but allowing the ODM team to roam all polling stations freely.

Additional report by Nicky Gitonga