MP Mohammed Ali calls for IEBC probe after voter awareness billboards pulled down in Mombasa

Nyali Member of Parliament Mohammed Ali has accused the Mombasa County government of suppressing civic engagement after three of his billboards promoting voter registration were pulled down under alleged intimidation.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the legislator said the incident occurred on the night of April 6 across various parts of Mombasa, where the billboards had been erected in Buxton, Ferry and Kibarani.

Ali stated that the billboards, which carried a civic message encouraging voter registration, had been lawfully procured through licensed vendors but were forcibly removed following threats directed at advertising operators.

“These billboards were located in Buxton, Ferry, and Kibarani,” he said, adding that he had been informed of “similar threats” targeting operators of digital screens, warning them against airing an animated version of the same message.

The MP further alleged that the pressure was emanating from within the county government led by Governor Abdulswamad Sharrif Nassir.

According to the statement, the message displayed on the billboards read: “Utawala Bora sio zawadi. Ni haki yako. Chukua kura tujikomboe.”

“This is a civic message encouraging voter registration—nothing more, nothing less,” Ali said.

He termed the removal of the billboards as an abuse of power and a violation of constitutional freedoms, arguing that it undermines efforts to promote voter awareness in the coastal region.

“The pulling down of billboards with such civic messaging is an outright abuse of power and the suppression of civic space,” he stated, adding that the move violates Article 33 of the Constitution which guarantees freedom of expression.

Ali also claimed that the actions were part of a broader attempt to maintain historically low voter registration levels in the region, while simultaneously infringing on the rights of private businesses through intimidation.

“For so long, Mombasa has been run by people who assume that the whole county is their family affair dictating how private entities operate and how the common mwananchi lives,” he said.

The MP further framed the incident as a struggle over democratic space, insisting that the issue was not the physical billboards but the message they carried.

“As a matter of fact, their real issue is not the billboard. It is the message,” he said, adding that the message reminds residents that “leadership is a right, not a favour” and that “the people must reclaim their voice through the vote.”

Ali has now called on the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to “urgently investigate and intervene” in what he described as interference with legitimate voter registration awareness efforts.

He also urged residents of Mombasa to remain vigilant, stating, “This is not about one candidate—it is about your right to choose leadership freely.”