Abdullswamad Sherrif Nassir

Abdullswamad Sheriff Nassir
Governor of Mombasa County
Incumbent
Assumed office 9 August 2022

Nassir was born in Majengo, Mombasa County to Sheriff Nassir and Nassim Sheriff Nassir. His father was a former Mvita MP who held cabinet positions in the administration of Daniel arap Moi and as the Coast Region Chairman of the ruling party KANU.

Nassir attended Aga Khan Primary School in Mombasa in 1981 before transferring to Coast Academy. Upon completing his primary school education in 1988, he joined Lenana School in Nairobi. He completed his secondary education in 1992. He graduated from Inoorero University in 2014 with a Bachelor of Commerce degree.

Career

Business

Nassir is the CEO of Radio Rahma. ^[1]

Politics

Member of Parliament

Nassir ventured into politics in the 2013 Kenya General Elections. He was elected MP for Mvita Constituency on the ODM ticket. He served two terms as MP. While in the National Assembly, he served as chairperson of the Public Investment Committee (PIC).

Governor of Mombasa

Nassir vied for Mombasa governor in the 2022 General Elections. He won the seat by garnering 119,083 votes. ^[2]

During his first term as the Governor of Mombasa, Nassir launched a scholarship program, to provide educational opportunities to deserving regional needy students. The county assembly under his leadership allocated Ksh.15 Million to cover for the scholarships. ^[3]

He is also the deputy party leader of ODM ^[4]

Personal life

Nassir has struggled with his weight. At his heaviest, he weighed 130 kilograms (290 lb). In 2016 he lost 47 kilograms (104 lb). ^[5]

He is married with four children – three sons and one daughter.

Controversy

Sexual violence against critics

On September 25th, 2024, it was widely reported that Nassir and his mother orcherstrated the abduction and use of sexual violence (gang sodomy) to subdue Mombasa based blogger identified as BJK. BJK had been critical of the plunder and excessive corruption carried out by Nassir and his family at the County. Despite numerous sermons by police for Nassir to present himself, he went into hiding, causing a countrywide public outcry. ^{[6] [7]} On 30th September 2024, Nassir through his social media blamed the gang rape victim of being a coached witness. Hussein Mohammed, Nassir's right-hand man and also the County Executive Officer for lands, was arrested on 30th September 2024 in connection to the heinous act. ^{[8] [9]}

The investigations are still ongoing with the public calling for Nassir and his mother to be arrested. ^{[7] [10]}

References

1. Mghenyi, Charles. "Kenya: Mombasa's Radio Rahma Station Employees Strike Over Poor Pay". AllAfrica. Archived from the original on January 10, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
2. "ODM's Abdulswamad Nassir wins Mombasa governor race". Nation. 2022-08-30. Archived from the original on 2022-11-10. Retrieved 2023-06-05.
3. "Mombasa Governor unveils scholarship program – Kenya News Agency". 14 February 2024.
4. Kisia, Allan (9 August 2024). "ODM names Arati, Osotsi and Nassir new deputy party leaders". The Star.
5. "No, I didn't use any medication to shed off 40kg, says Mvita MP". Nairobi News. 2019-06-17. Archived from the original on 2023-02-01. Retrieved 2023-06-05.
6. Ocharo, Brian (24 September 2024). "Police link Governor Nassir, his mother to blogger's gang rape". Daily Nation.
7. "Blogger gang rape: High Court allows LSK, Mombasa Law Society to join case". Daily Nation. 2 October 2024.
8. Obara, Valentine (30 September 2024). "NTV Kenya: Mombasa gang rape: Arrest of governor's right-hand man sends shockwaves". NTV Kenya.
9. Kirambia, Maurine (3 October 2024). "Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Records Statement With DCI on Blogger's Gang Rape - Kenyans.co.ke". www.kenyans.co.ke.
10. "Nassir offers DCI information amid outrage over gang-rape of abducted critic". Capital News. 3 October 2024.