Kamukunji MP Yusuf Hassan on surviving terror attack and serving for 15 straight years

He is one of the longest serving legislators in Kenya's National Assembly, and he looks to go for yet another term in the coming 2027 General Election. 

He recently declared that he will be seeking re-election under Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP), which was formed by Rigathi Gachagua upon his impeachment as Deputy President.

So what has made him the darling of his electorates all these years? 

"I'm always out there defending Gikomba market under very difficult conditions, even this year we have had a terrible fire and over 20,000 people lost everything," Hassan says.

This is one of the many things the MP believes he has done to the people of Kamukunji to endear himself to them.

But his has not been all rosy. In 2013, prior to the general election and having served for only two years, Hassan was a victim of a terror attack that left him hospitalised for a long time.

"I was in a critical condition in hospital, I didn't have the time to think politically or to aspire for a political position," Hassan says.

But his constituents pushed him to defend his seat despite being hospitalised. He said they mobilised, organised committees and even financially supported his campaigns, earning him a win in the election.

Hassan had returned to Kenya to work for the UN office in Nairobi when he witnessed first hand the deplorable conditions his constituents were living in.

He resigned from his job and sought the Kamukunji MP seat, winning and effectively joining politics.

Born and raised in Eastleigh and northern Kenya, Hassan first worked with Voice of Kenya (VOK) and later joined BBC in London where he worked until he joined UN.