Team Yusuf rolls on despite handicap of wheel chair campaign

Jubilee Presidential aspirant Uhuru Kenyatta receives Kamukunji MP Yusuf Hassan when they launched the manifesto at Kasarani on February 3, 2012 . Photo/BILLY MUTAI

By BILLY MUIRURI [email protected] ( email the author)

Daily Nation
Sunday, February 24, 2013

As he would normally do every Friday, Mr Yusuf Hassan walked briskly to the Al Hidiya Mosque in Eastleigh for evening prayers.

His rather hectic day had included a meeting with various interest groups to prepare for The National Alliance (TNA) party nominations that were a few weeks away.

But nothing had prepared him for what followed that night of December 7 last year when unidentified assailants lobbed a grenade near the mosque, killing six people and seriously injuring 30 others.

Mr Hassan, then Kamukunji MP, was lucky to be alive, but he had suffered horrific injuries to both legs. Today, 79 days later, he can neither stand nor walk and when he is not confined to a hosptial bed, the only way he can get around is in a wheelchair.

As Mr Hassan took time off from politics to recuperate, the campaigns continued unabated. After an extended absence, he was faced with a stark choice - to opt out of the race to defend his Kamkunji seat or to do the improbable and dive into battle.

He chose to fight. From his hospital bed.

Even for the able-bodied, campaigns can be strenuous. What with early morning calls, dashing from one strategy meeting to another, meeting a delegation here and there and not forgetting a whole bunch of logistics to deal with - from putting up posters and making grassroots visits to ensuring everyone gets paid.

Mr Hassan’s room at the Princess Zahra Pavilion at Aga Khan Hospital has become his theatre of political operations. It is in a private wing and visitors, including family members, are strictly vetted.

From his hospital bed, Mr Hassan has assembled a campaign team of twenty coordinators from each of the five wards that constitute Kamkunji constituency. These are the individuals tasked with criss-crossing the densely populated voting bloc to sell Mr Hassan’s agenda.

Mr Patrick Kihara leads one group of campaigners, and the Sunday Nation team caught up with them at Pumwani moving from house to house reminding people to vote for Mr Hassan.

We are later introduced to another group at California Estate. Here, the man in charge is Mr Mohamed China who also doubles as the MP’s campaign head of logistics.

“There is ground to cover everyday, and people must move. I facilitate them and report to mheshimiwa everyday,” he said.

Meetings at the hospital are formal although sitting space is limited to five (the rest usually make themselves comfortable on the carpet) while Mr Hassan sits on a special seat. Hospital staff rarely disrupt the meetings perhaps because they have strict schedules to stick to.

“I miss the freedom to walk around and meet people in the streets. As an MP without a side job or office to go, I used to spend a lot of time on in the constituency,” Hassan says.

An amiable man with a hearty laugh, the MP is meeting a team of elders who call themselves “financial wellwishers” when we visit.

“Our focus remains education bursaries, road rehabilitation, security and street lighting, sewerage systems and water provision,” said a campaigner, Abdiaziz Hirsi.

He was similarly indisposed when he vanquished his nemesis, former Kamukunji MP Simon Mbugua and two other aspirants to clinch The National Alliance (TNA) ticket.

When the nomination results were released on January 18, Mr Hassan had polled 5,300 votes against his closest challenger’s (Mr Mbugua) who garnered less than 800 votes.

Mr Hassan has made his presence felt through road shows where his supporters wear his campaign caps and T-shirts.

He has left the hospital only twice - to present his nomination papers at Pumwani Social Hall on January 31 and to attend the launch of the Jubilee manifesto at Kasarani on February 3.

Although he still has a long way to go before recovering fully, initial medical reports indicate the MP could leave hospital anytime now—although still in a wheelchair.

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