Mombasa governor Abdulswamad Nassir has announced that he is advertising for the positions of county executives including CECMs, cheif officers and the position of county secretary.

In a media brief at the governor's office on Sunday, Nassir said that the decision to advertise for the positions was informed by the need to ensure that Mombasa gets qualified individuals.

He also announced that he had set up three committees made up of professionals to help him vet and pick individuals to fill the positions advertised.

"The law allows me to pick individuals, but I found it wise to engage professionals to assist me pick the individuals to serve in my administration"

"I have already written to the county public service to immediately hire those who will be picked for chief officer positions as the rest face the assembly for vetting," said Nassir.

His announcement comes two months after he was sworn into office on September 15.

There were speculations that he had failed to announce his cabinet because of interference from powerful sources within and outside of the county. 

Nassir however refuted the reports saying that no individual or entity was interfering with his running of Mombasa.

"I have advertised these positions and will like to welcome those who feel they are qualified to apply regardless of political assertion, religion or ethnicity," he said.

Adding "Those are just rumours, there is no  single person who has tried that."

The committee to vet those applying for the county cabinet executives positions will be led by representative from Kenya National Chambers of Commerce and Industry Mombasa chapter.

The committee will also have Mahmoud Noor and Ali Ahmed from the Finance Taskforce and will be joined by former Mombasa Law Society chairman Benjamin Njoroge.

Other members will include pastor Ibrahim Charo to represent the church, former chief Kadhi Sheikh Hammad Kassim to represent Muslims, and a representative from the Mombasa diaspora council.

Dr Wilfred Githinji, a don at Kemu will chair the committee to pick the new county secretary and will be joined by a representative from KNCCI Mombasa.

Others will be Oscar Juma from the  Institute of Certified Public Accountants Kenya (ICPAK), Mwinyi Bwika from LSK and a representative from the county government workers union.

Nassir said that the process of picking the individuals to serve in the positions will be done in ten days time beginning Monday.

 The CECM positions to be filled include Lands, Housing and Urban Planning, Water Natural Resources and Climate change resilience, Environment and solid waste management, Transport and infrastructure..

Others will be, Health, Finance and economic planning, Blue economy, agriculture and Livestock, Public service administration, youth gender and sports and Tourism, culture and trade department.

Positions for Chief officers will include a chief officer in Policy and planning, Governance, Tourism culture and trade, Blue economy agriculture and livestock and Youth gender and social services.

Others will be Public service administration, Education and digital transformation, Lands housing and urban planning, Water and sanitation, Renewable energy natural resources and climate change resilience, Environment and solid waste management, Transport and infrastructure, public health and disease prevention, clinical services and finance and economic planning.

Mombasa businessman and politician Suleiman Shahbal has mourned his former chief campaigner and strategist Nyonga Makemba.

Makemba died on Saturday evening while receiving treatment at a hospital in Mombasa where he had been admitted for some days.

Makemba also served as a personal assistant of former powerful Coast politician Karisa Maitha.

In a long social media post, Shahbal as his strongest supporter, brother and friend.

"Today, I have lost a friend, a brother, and my strongest political supporter for the last 12 years David Nyonga wa Makemba. Nyonga stood with me in every single crisis in my campaigns since I started my political career." posted Shahbal.

Shahbal revealed that he was to visit the late Makemba at hospital tomorrow(Sunday).

"I spoke to his son yesterday and I had planned to go see Nyonga tomorrow morning, but unfortunately, he passed on today. Nyonga had been admitted at the Coast General Hospital.Nyonga has been a key political player in both Kilifi and Mombasa politics from the days of the late Karisa Maitha."

Adding "He was a leader and a Mijikenda elder who was respected by all including those who disagreed with him.My deepest condolences to his wife, relatives, friends, and family."

Coast political strategist and businessman Nyonga Makemba is dead.

Makemba who was a close associate and personal assistant to former Coast powerful politician the late Karisa Maitha died on Saturday evening at a hospital in Mombasa.

Makemba had been admitted at the hospital for days after suffering a stroke.

Makemba was also the chief campaigner and political strategist of Suleiman Shahbal during the 2013 general election. Shahbal was vying for the Mombasa governor seat but lost to Hassan Joho.

His loyalty for Shahbal saw him jailed for perjury after testifying in support of an election petition filed against Joho Shahbal where he admitted to voting without his name being found in the voters’ register.

The late Makemba also served as chairman of the Mijikenda Youth Forum.

He was among  individuals fighting for the inclusion of the Mijikenda people in regional (Coast) leadership..

Nyali Mp Mohammed Ali has called on Mombasa governor Abdulswamad Nassir to work with President William Ruto and his government saying the election season is over and it was time for nation-building.

Ali argued the only way that the people of Mombasa will benefit from the current government is by governor Nassir working closely with government.

Speaking during the commissioning of the food for education kitchen for school feeding program, Ali said he is ready to support Nassir despite being from different political parties.

"I would like to commend you for your efforts in bringing leaders from the county together, you have invited us in your official functions several times, you have always been picking our calls and listening to us and we appreciate this" said Ali.

Adding " I would like to tell you this, do not waste anytime, come and work with the current government under President William Ruto. Do not fear anything you were elected by the people of Mombasa, time for politics and looking at your political party is long gone, it now time to work for the people and you can only do this through working with President Ruto. I personally support you."

The vocal legislator also called on Nassir to ensure that does not appoint selfish individuals as his executives but individuals who will work for the people.

Ali charged "When I look at you office I see there are some problems but I will like to tell you to make sure that you do not  bring people who are not selfish to that office."

In his response, Nassir said he is ready to work with any leader for the sake of development and the common welfare of the residents. 

" I have heard what my brother Ali has said, we have work closely with him, we were from different political sides. In this crowd there are those who voted for Ali and others who voted for me, our first priority is the growth of Mombasa and the people. And for that reason we are going to have an open door where we will work with everyone as long as priority number one is the growth of Mombasa" said Nassir.

Kenyan brand KikoRomeo debuted its latest ILLE collection at Heineken Lagos Fashion Week  to a star studded audience in Victoria Island, Nigeria.

The cream of Nigerian models walked the runway as all eyes looked to Lagos for the latest in outstanding African design.

Now led by Iona McCreath, the heritage brand showed outstanding innovation in its textiles and silhouettes as the 26 year old Iona, married traditional dyeing and weaving techniques with new textures, patterns and silhouettes. 

The collection for men and women featured easy to wear fluid pieces with space for movement around the body.

Sharp “V” necklines, were contrasted by asymmetric hems, parallel pants and deep pleats. Flowing jumpsuits and dresses in regenerated orange peel and rose petal textiles contrasted with boxy cuts of handwoven cotton.

Patterns were rich with linear stripes of brightly-colored beads, blurry stripes of hand dyes and soft geometric diamonds in blues, oranges and browns.

These were combined with undyed natural yarn and napa leather. As always the brand paid close attention to detail with finely crafted coconut shell buttons and laser-cut cowhorn buttons, both upcycled by-products of the food industry.

Speaking about the collection, Head designer and Creative Director Iona McCreath said “With inspiration stemming from the Rendille and Samburu and the processes of hybridisation and evolution that they have faced in relation to each other. The body as a form of adornment is another theme that this collection explores."

Adding "Primarily from the perspective of Nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples who move around constantly. Thus, through processes of permanence (through scarring, piercings etc) and impermanence, (through body painting and jewelry) the body becomes a way to convey cultural processes and tell stories. Within this collection, these themes are explored through the individual textiles and their pairings.”

The ILLE textile was created to encapsulate the wealth of Kenyan beadwork and embody it within a textile. The glass beads are combined with rainfed cotton, and then woven into the textile, reflecting the semi-permanence of bodily adornment.   

The ruling Kenya Kwanza Alliance party has released a list of 15 individuals nominated to the East Africa Legislative Assembly (EALA).

Among those in the list is Hassan Omar who unsuccessful vied for the Mombasa gubernatorial seat on a UDA ticket but lost to Abdulswamad Nassir of ODM.

Yasser Bajaber who unucessful vied for the Mombasa Senator (Ford-Kenya) in 2017 is also among those shortlisted for the job.

Others in the list are former nominated senator David Sankok, Salim Busidy, Lilian Tomitom, Cyprian Iringo, Jonas Kuko, Abdikadir Aden and Falhadha Iman.

Joel Nyambane, Godfrey Karobia, Fredrick Charles, Zipporah Kering, and Rebecca Lowoiya have also been nominated for the positions.

Kenya Kwanza has five slots to fill to the regional legislative assembly.

Earlier, ODM also released it's list of six nominees, Suleiman Shahbal is among those listed.

https://ommydalla.co.ke/politics/item/3117-shahbal-nominated-to-east-africa-assembly

The two camps are contesting for only 9 slots allocated to Kenya's delegation at EALA. Members of parliament will determine who will make it to EALA through voting on secret ballot.

ODM party are entitled to two slots, Wiper party and Jubilee party are entitled to one slot each. Wiper Leader Kalonzo Musyoka has fronted his son Kennedy Kalonzo for the slot

From Jubilee side, secretary general Jeremiah Kioni and the Director of Election Kanini Kega are also eyeing the slot.

Former Baringo Senator and KANU party chairman Gideon Moi withdrew his candidature in the contest, according to a statement from the party, Moi made the decision to give way to other contenders to win the seat.

Mombasa based transformational life coach, author, business consultant and mentor Sheila Toya has just released her first book.

The book titled 'Finding The True You'  hit the stands last month, October 2021.

In an interview with Ommy Dallah, Toya talks in detail about her newly launched book and work

1...Tell us more about yourself , who is Sheila Toya?

I am Sheila Toya

I am a transformational life coach, author, business consultant and mentor.

As a certified NLP Practitioner I work with individuals towards their self discovery, self mastery and transcendence objectives.

2...When did you first realise you wanted to be a writer?

I have always admired writing. I have always wondered how people get to become authors until I realised later on in life that it is as easy as putting your thoughts on paper.

3...Apart from writing, what is your other profession? Has it ever influenced your writing?

As previously mentioned as a transformational life coach and catalyst I support individuals to develop behaviors of success through a change of mindset and behavioral patterns.

 I practice mindfulness in all that I do and how I live my life so the learnings  (what i term as gleeanings) I get out of journeying through life significantly contribute to my writing.

4....Any particular authors that inspired your writing?

 I don't have any specific authors because I read widely depending on what my season is or what I need to learn. I do not limit myself to any particular author.

5...Are you a disciplined or spontaneous writer?

I am both a spontaneous and disciplined writer. Some writings i am very spontaneous while in others I apply discipline in the writing I do.

6...Let's talk about your new book, tell us more about it?

My recently authored book 'Finding The True You' is a simple guide to self discovery and enables the readers to understand how they can live a fulfilled life as they stay true to who they are while accomplishing their purpose. I have realised that many people lack self awareness and do not have life skills. This applies to both young and old, no matter the social or religious status, leading to high cases of mental health issues and life challenges as well.

7....How long did it take you to write the book from the idea inception to publication?

Every book has a story. Finding The True You has evolved and gone through such immense change to be what it is today. I would say that once the season for its release came it took a couple of weeks to have the same finalised. I have different versions of the same but this is what I was fully persuaded was meant to be released. I am glad with what it is currently.

8....What part of the book was the most difficult to write?

This book is basically some of my life's experiences captured in a book as a guide to the many people who are on a self-discovery quest and desirous to live a fulfilled life. Some instances the emotion of what I was experiencing at a particular time would be awakened within me and it can get really emotionally raw. I am grateful that as a result 'Finding The True You' gets to be a relatable book because the reader will connect and relate with the same as a result.

 9...How can one find the book?

The book is available @ kshs 1500 on Paybill 925974 The Journey Concept Account is the reader's name.

Pick up point is Close The Gap Ratna Square Mombasa 

10...Who do you consider your most critic and why?

I am my own worst critic. I am the type that will put myself under the spotlight of self criticism as I push myself towards being and doing better.

 I also have people that I have surrounded myself with who have the express authority to speak into my life as tough or as hard as it deserves to be done because I know they have my best interests at heart and I am open to receive the same.

 11...Any future projects after this?

I have many more books that are yet to be released. I am currently finalising on 'The Exceptional Woman' an inspiration to women to embrace extraordinary traits to be all that they can be. This is specifically for that woman that desires to get exceptionally extraordinary.

 'Finding The True You' on the other hand is for the general audience so is a read to all who are desirous to experience living a fulfilled life as they find their true selves.

Kenya’s Sarova Panafric held the historical cake mixing ceremony that traditionally marks the beginning of a celebratory mood as the world starts to enter the Christmas season. The event also marked the hotel’s commitment to giving customers within and without Kenya a taste that matches their unique needs.

The exciting event was characterized by the mixing of traditional liquors with sultanas, raisins, cashews, almonds, plums, peaches and nuts awaiting Christmas season baking. The chefs on site showed their prowess in mixing and combining the ingredients for a spectacular outcome.

Other ingredients that went into the cake mix included dates, figs, dried cherries, pistachios, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, dried ginger, candied fruits, prunes, walnuts, sugar, eggs and all-purpose flour. The mixture is then soaked in rum, brandy, wine or a combination of fruit juices and alcohol, all of which give the cake its signature taste and aroma.

The cake mix is filled in airtight containers and is allowed to soak for at least a week. Since alcohol is a preservative, it was believed that preserving the cake mix for a year could attract good luck and harmony.

According to Sarova Hotel’s group Pastry Chef, Sanjit Gupta, the lovely ceremony presented an occasion where chefs and participants do not just make preparations for the upcoming festival, but also get together to welcome the festive spirit that is so synonymous with Christmas.

“For us, this is not just a cake mixing ceremony because we know many others might be doing the same. For us, it is a show of the expertise that we put in place to give our customers the best,” said the chef.

The event is part of the history that dates back to the 17th century when cake mixing was done to mark the arrival of the harvest season in a procedure that has remained constant through the years. This tradition used to be an intimate family affair to symbolize unity and hard work and is now no longer a preserve of Christian households.

Mombasa businessman and politician Suleiman Shahbal is among six individuals nominated by the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party to serve as members of the East Africa Legislative Assembly (EALA).

The list was officially released by ODM on Wednesday morning following a selection process which was chaired by deputy party leader and former Kakamega governor Wycliffe Oparanya.

Others in the list include ODM party leader Raila Odinga's daughter Winnie Odinga,  Mohammed Diriye, Timothy Bosire, Beatrice Askul and Justus Kizito.

The nominees are required to submit their applications by Wednesday, November 9.

During the campaigns in the run-up to the August 9 election, Shabal worked closely with the Azimio la Umoja leadership in campaigning for Raila Odinga's presidential bid.

Shahbal was among the top contenders for the Mombasa gubernatorial seat in the last election but shelved his ambition for the current governor Abdulswamad Nassir after consultations headed by party leader Raila Odinga and former Mombasa governor Hassan Joho.