ODM Leaders Urge Magarini Voters to Reject DCP Candidate as Elephant Crisis and Politics Dominate Campaigns

ODM party leaders in Kilifi County have asked residents of Magarini to reject the DCP candidate Stanley Kenga in the November 27 byelection as its party leader was tribal and elect ODM’s Harrison Kombe.

The ODM leaders who are aggressively campaigning for Harrison Kombe claimed that DCP party leader Rigathi Gachagua was tribal and does not deserve to get the Coastal votes.

Speaking during campaigns in Shakahola, Binzaro, CHakama and Kathama areas of Magarini he said that voting for Kenga would be betrayal as Gachagua while serving as Deputy President had said that coast people had no shares in the Kenya Kwanza government.

Mung’aro said that Gachagua’s candidate should also be rejected because their party leader was not in power and will not deliver any development when elected.

He said that Gachagua was Deputy President and kicked out by the President so he had no capacity to help his candidate if he wins since he was busy campaigning for the 2027 General elections.

“If somebody was deputy president and he could not even marshal MPs to save him from impeachment, how is he going to help the people of Magarini and Kilifi?” wondered Mung’aro.

He leaders also called on the national government to address the elephant menace in the county claiming they were contributing to high poverty levels due to the massive destruction.

Mung’aro said that elephants have contributed to destruction of crops in Magarini, Ganze and Kaloleni sub counties.

He told President William Ruto to speed up the process of erecting an electric fence to prevent the elephants from crossing to farms or else the community members will turn against them.

He told KWS to ensure they control the elephants to prevent destruction of crops as they wait for the funds to erect an electric fence.

“The president told me that they will seek for funds to fence the park but before that let KWS rangers be stationed in the villages so that they can drive the elephants away as soon as they are spotted,” he said.

Adu Ward MCA Reuben Zia said that the elephants have contributed to high poverty levels in the area as each time residents planted crops they were destroyed by the rogue elephants.

“If they don’t deal with these elephants let them not blame us when we take action and protect our farms,” he said.

Residents said that they needed to get a permanent solution to the elephant menace as they have suffered for a long time.