Lamu County’s diverse leadership proves voters are discerning and non-party-aligned

During the 2022 General Election, Lamu was one of the counties that saw politicians face off in highly contested polls, proving that constituents voted based on track records and service delivery rather than political parties. 

As other regions voted on political alignments, Lamu elected leaders from different parties, from the presidential to the gubernatorial, senatorial, woman representative, parliamentary and ward elections. 

According to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), Lamu County had 81,453 registered voters and recorded a 64% voter turnout.

The county perceived as former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s stronghold proved unpredictable, as the Azimio la Umoja and opposition leader registered a narrow win over President William Ruto. 

Judging by the diversity of Lamu's political leadership, both in terms of ethnicity and political affiliations, Lamu voters appear to be one of the most discerning counties in Kenya.

Elected leaders 

Issa Abdallah Timamy - Governor - Amani National Congress (ANC)

Raphael Munyua - Deputy Governor - ANC 

Joseph Githuku - Senator - Jubilee 

Monicah Marubu - Woman Representative - Independent 

Stanley Muthama - MP Lamu West - Jubilee 

Ruweida Mohamed Obo - MP Lamu East - Jubilee

Lamu County Assembly leadership. Infographic: (Flourish

Members of the County Assembly

Shekhuna Abass - ANC

Barisa Deco - Party of Democratic Unity (PDU) 

Atwaa Salim - ODM 

Bwana Mohamed - United Party of Independent Alliance (UPIA) 

Abubakar Mohamed - Ford-Kenya 

Suleiman Farah - Party of National Unity (PNU)

Paul Kimani - Safina 

Francis Gakonga - Narc-Kenya

John Mburu - ANC

James Njaaga - Safina 

Members of the Lamu County Assembly. Infographic: (Flourish)

The Breakdown 

Presidential election

In Lamu, Azimio’s Raila Odinga garnered 26,162 votes, accounting for 51.34% of the total votes cast.

The United Democratic Alliance's (UDA) William Ruto followed closely with 22,876 votes, representing 44.89% of the votes.

Gubernatorial 

Issa Abdallah Timamy of the ANC captured the seat after defeating Fahim Yasin Twaha of the Jubilee Party, which belongs to the Azimio Coalition.  

Governor Timamy garnered 24,198 votes against Twaha's 16,054 votes.

The two have served as Lamu County Governors, with Timamy serving between 2013 and 2017 and returning to win the seat again in 2022. Twaha served as governor between 2017 and 2022. 

Timamy’s running mate, Raphael Munyua of the ANC  automatically became Deputy Governor after the 2022 elections. 

Senatorial election

In the senatorial election, Joseph Githuku trounced former Lamu Senator Anwar Loitiptip.

Senator Githuku of the Jubilee Party garnered 12,091 votes to emerge victorious. Githuku had previously served as a nominated MCA between 2013 and 2017 under the Farmers Party.

Loitiptip, who was an independent candidate, finished sixth with 2,238 votes, a huge distance behind lawyer Yusuf Mahmoud Aboubakar, who got 11,875 votes and finished second. 

ODM’s Ahmed Bunu Haji, finished third with 8,688 votes and Francis Kariuki Mugo of UDA was fourth with 7,351 votes.

Earlier, Mugo trounced Loitiptip in the UDA party primaries, forcing the former senator to run independently. 

Woman Rep 

Monica Muthoni Marubu, who was one of the youngest candidates in the Woman Representative election, won the seat on an independent ticket.

The former head of Community Liaison and Stakeholders Engagement at Lapsset (Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport) garnered 16,480 votes. 

In second was former Kenya Ports Authority clerical officer Nana Mohamed Mote of the Jubilee Party with 13,174 votes. Nominated MCA Amina Kale Loo of the ANC was third with 10,398 votes.

Entrepreneur and Myra Botanics CEO Maryam Abdalla Abubakar of the Pamoja African Alliance (PAA) followed with 6,115 votes and businesswoman Eshar Abdalla Nizar of ODM got 2,500 votes.

Psychologist Loyce Dama Luwali of Narc Kenya had 1,074 votes.

Meanwhile, the incumbent, Monica Muthoni, prior to her election, served as a nominated MCA between 2013 and 2017 under The National Alliance (TNA) Party.

In the 2017 General Election, she ran for the Lamu Woman Representative seat but lost to current Lamu East MP Ruweida Mohamed Obo.

MPs - Lamu West and Lamu East 

Lamu East made history by electing its first woman MP, Ruweiba Mohamed Obo, of the Jubilee Party. 

Obo, a pilot by profession, garnered 5,498 votes.

Athman Shariff of UDA, Shekue Kahale of Kanu and Wiper's Mohamed Madhbuti followed closely with 4,633 votes, 3,180 votes, and 1,632 votes, respectively. 

In Lamu West, Jubilee also clinched the seat, as its candidate Stanley Muiruri Muthama retained his seat.

Muthama, an engineer by profession, garnered 14,515 votes against the Usawa Party’s Josphat Musembi Matei (former Lamu Couty Trade CEC), who got 4,947 votes and the ANC's Abdu Kassim Ahmed (former Lamu County Speaker), who got 4,699 votes. 

Others were Rishad Hamid Amana of UDA (4,165), Hassan Abdalla Albeity of PAA (3,807), Ishmael Kaviha Khamis of NAPK (1,522), Abdirashid Mwaura Njuguna of PNU (683) and Mary Immaculate Nyaga of Narc Kenya (308).