FORMER BAHARI MP JOE KHAMISI QUITS POLITICS

In a bid to concentrate on his literary work, Former Bahari MP, Joe Khamisi has confirmed quitting active politics.

Speaking during a private interview Khamisi said his time in active politics is over and he has nothing to regret about as he successfully fulfilled his duty when he was the Member of Parliament for Bahari constituency.

“I joined politics because I wanted to serve my people in a more pragmatic way and I did that successfully for 5 years for Bahari.  My basic interest however is in writing. I have exited politics permanently to become a full-time author,” he said.

Joe, who splits his time between US and Kenya, is currently in the country preparing to launch his second book next month. “The Dash Before Dusk” published by the East African Educational Publishers is an autobiography. It is an account of his life history experiences as a journalist, diplomat and politician.

In his first book “The Politics of Betrayal” he made use of his diary by putting down everything political in it into a political narrative. As he says “it is a narrative of his observation of the Kenyan politics for the period 2001 to 2008.”

In the book are scathing descriptions of politicians’ track records with information on the scandalous antics of Kenyan politicians. It focuses on the period starting 2001 when president Moi and Raila Odinga ventured into a tricky alliance until opposition against Moi peaked following the declaration of current His excellency president Uhuru Kenyatta as Moi’s successor.

As he puts it 2001 – 2008 were the most critical years in the country's history when President Daniel Arap Moi's dictatorial rule ended, the country saw massive corruption in the public sector and Kenya was engulfed in post election violence, in which more than one thousand people were killed and tens of thousands of others displaced. It is during this period that Kilifi County experienced its first terrorism attack- bombing of paradise hotel in Mtwapa.

After launching his autobiography, Joe is planning to return overseas to embark on his next book.  As a former politician in the country, he said he finds a better writing environment outside the country and that is why he splits his time between Kenya and the US.

When asked why he had not opted to stage opposition to the current County government. Joe was quick to defend his move and threw the ball to the voters.

“As far as the current leadership is concerned, I don’t want to make any judgment. They were elected by the people and people are the right ones to comment but I wish them well.” He concluded.