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President Dr William Samoei Arap Ruto is fighting hard as he tries to bring on board his allies ahead of the forthcoming general elections to be held in August next year.
But the president has received bad news as one of his close allies has vehemently turned down his offer.
Prominent businessman and East African Legislative Assembly lawmaker Suleiman Shahbal has publicly rejected President William Ruto’s appeal for him to quit active politics, firmly declaring his intent to contest the Mombasa gubernatorial seat in the 2027 general election.
While expressing personal respect for the Head of State, Shahbal emphasized that his conviction to serve the people of Mombasa supersedes high-level political advice to confine himself exclusively to corporate ventures.
The defiance comes shortly after President Ruto publicly urged the GulfCap Group chairman to abandon his county political ambitions during a major investment agreement signing.
The President had argued that Shahbal’s proven entrepreneurial acumen and global networks would yield greater national benefit through large-scale job creation rather than county political contests.
However, Shahbal maintained that public leadership demands placing citizen welfare ahead of private economic enterprise, insisting that the development needs of the coastal county require decisive and experienced governance.
Vowing that his name will be on the ballot come 2027, Shahbal made it clear that he will not surrender the county’s leadership to incompetent managers.
Reflecting on past electoral cycles where consensus arrangements forced him out of party races, he stressed that boardroom political negotiations will no longer dictate his aspirations. He noted that only the electorate and divine will hold the ultimate authority to determine his political trajectory.
Shahbal’s firm stance sets up a high-stakes gubernatorial showdown against incumbent Governor Abdulswamad Nassir.
As political alignments continue to take shape across the Coast region, Shahbal’s resolve signals a fierce contest for control of Kenya’s strategic maritime hub, challenging both ruling party influence and local incumbency setups.
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