The People Have Spoken: Nyali Residents Back Abdulsamad Ali for 2027

At Tanga Beach, the common mwananchi found a voice — and a candidate they believe in.

By Feddy Madebe • Mombasa, Kenya

On the shores of Tanga Beach in Nyali, Mombasa, this Ramadhan has felt different. Tables laden with iftar meals stretch along the waterfront, courtesy of “Fungua Mwadhini na AA” — the community initiative run by 2027 Nyali constituency aspirant Abdulsamad Ali. But it is not the food alone that has people talking. It is what the food represents: a politician who arrived before the campaign season did.

When An-Nisaa TV’s Faridah Ali visited Tanga Beach on 11th March 2026, residents did not hold back.

“He Was Here Before He Had a Reason to Be”

The phrase that kept returning, in different forms and different voices, was simple: he showed up. For a constituency that has grown accustomed to leaders who appear at election time and disappear shortly after, the consistency of Abdulsamad Ali’s presence has made a deep impression.

“He is the first politician to truly be with the common mwananchi,” said one resident. “We have taken our votes, and we will vote for Abdulsamad — we can see the reasons.”

That last phrase — we can see the reasons — carried a particular weight. These are not voters swayed by promises. They are voters responding to evidence.

A Vow, Not Just a Vote

What struck observers during the An-Nisaa TV broadcast was the intensity of the commitment residents expressed. This was not passive approval. It was active loyalty, the kind forged through repeated, tangible acts of care.

“Wherever AA will be, we will be there,” declared one Tanga Beach resident. Another went further: “We will hold his hand for what he is doing.”

But the community’s support came with a clear condition. Residents were unequivocal in urging Ali not to follow the well-worn path of Coast politicians who vanish between election cycles. “We do not want to only see him during elections,” said one woman. “He must remain with us.”

Why Nyali Is Ready for AA

Nyali Constituency — home to over 216,000 residents across wards including Mkomani, Kadzandani, Ziwa la Ng’ombe, and Shanzu — carries the quiet contradictions of Kenya’s Coast. It is a place of beachfront hotels and persistent poverty, of new developments and old unmet needs. Water shortages, youth unemployment, and crumbling infrastructure are not political talking points here. They are lived daily.

Against that backdrop, the “Fungua Mwadhini na AA” initiative has done more than feed people during Ramadhan. It has demonstrated that Abdulsamad Ali understands the difference between governing from a distance and leading from within.

With incumbent MP Mohammed Ali — the celebrated investigative journalist known as Jicho Pevu — widely reported to be eyeing the Mombasa gubernatorial seat in 2027, the Nyali parliamentary race is wide open. Residents appear to have already made up their minds about who should step into that space.

“AA is leading by example,” said one resident. “He has put the people of Nyali first — even before becoming MP.”

In Nyali, the 2027 race has not yet officially begun. But on Tanga Beach, the people have already spoken.