Former CS Jumwa walks a tightrope between State job, return to politics

Former Gender, Culture, the Arts, and Heritage Cabinet Minister Aisha Jumwa in Mombasa on July 26, 2024. [Robert Menza, Standard]

Former Gender Cabinet Secretary Aisha Jumwa’s illustrious political career is at a crossroads as she ponders whether to wait for a new government job or plan for the 2027 polls.

Jumwa’s close confidants say the former Malindi MP is torn between remaining in UDA or returning to Raila Odinga’s ODM.

In Kilifi, Jumwa appears isolated by UDA top brass such as Deputy Majority Leader in the National Assembly Owen Baya, who has teamed up with Governor Gideon Mung’aro of ODM.

Jumwa has been absent from President William Ruto’s functions at the Coast since late July, when the head of state promised her a new job.

In July, when Ruto laid the foundation stone for a Sh50 million market in Watamu, Kilifi County, he promised Jumwa a government job.

The President described Jumwa as his sister and vowed that he could not afford to leave her in the cold. He promised he would “walk” with her in government.

“As I promised my sister Aisha Jumwa, I will sort her out, and I will make sure that she is involved in matters of government because she is a heroine,” Ruto had said.

The former CS was among those who did not make it to the Cabinet after Ruto dismissed them in July following weekly Gen Z protests.

However, Jumwa’s appearance at Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga’s thanksgiving fete has sparked rumours that she was on her way to ODM.

Although she claimed to have honoured an invitation from Wanga to benchmark for Kilifi, she was optimistic about becoming governor in 2027.

At the Coast, politics has taken a new turn after Ruto formed a broad-based Cabinet in July that took in former Mombasa Governor Hassan Ali Joho.

Joho, a flamboyant political figure at the Coast, has taken over Ruto’s functions at the Coast, elbowing the UDA leadership in the region.

Joho was once Ruto’s fiercest critic and has now become the President’s leading defender in the Coast region.

The Mining, Blue Economy, and Maritime Affairs Cabinet Secretary has traversed the country to propagate Ruto’s agenda.

Meanwhile, Jumwa appears to be giving up on ever being appointed to a government position.

Pwani University lecturer Halim Shauri says that the Ruto and Raila rapprochement marks the roadmap to the 2027 polls, where Joho will be a key player in Coast.

He said that Ruto’s strategy to amass votes in the Coast could have political casualties, as the President must secure votes from the region to replace Mt Kenya votes if he is to be re-elected in 2027.

“In the matrix, Joho, the first Mombasa governor, stands out as a key figure in Coast politics. In politics, there are no permanent friends or enemies.

“Ruto now has Raila and Mudavadi in his fold. There is a constitutional requirement that a presidential candidate must win in at least 25 counties out of the 47.

With Joho and Trade CS Salim Mvurya, Ruto expects to win many votes in the six coastal counties,” he noted.

Political analyst Hassan Mwakimako noted that Joho and Mvurya will bolster Ruto’s political agenda for the 2027 polls, particularly if the two CSs succeed in their dockets, generate jobs and wealth for the region. According to Prof Mwakimako, Ruto settled on Joho and Mvurya as his Coast pointmen, together with Senate Speaker Amason Kingi, who hails from Kilifi County, to beef up his team in the region.

Jumwa rose from a Kanu youth winger in the 1990s, elected the Mnarani councillor and later Kilifi town council chairperson, before shooting into the national limelight.

All the time, Jumwa was vocal, but her politics took a steep rise when she became Kilifi County Woman Representative in 2013, as she vehemently defended her then ODM party boss, Raila.

After the fallout with Raila, when the latter closed ranks with former President Uhuru Kenyatta in a handshake that culminated in the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), Jumwa shifted allegiance and joined Ruto’s bandwagon. [email protected]