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No raha as President Uhuru visit stirs Coast propaganda war

 President Uhuru with Governor Joho during his Coast visit

Despite having left the Coast over two weeks ago, the echoes of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s tour are still reverberating in Mombasa and beyond.

Last week, the propaganda games between Cord and Jubilee which escalated during Uhuru’s visit, went to a new high when Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) and Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) shut two Container Freight Stations (CFS) owned by Governor Ali Hassan Joho’s brothers and relatives.

Cord now claims Joho is being punished for standing up to “bullying tactics” from the Executive during the 29 days when he questioned the president’s actions and policies in his presence.

KPA first suspended the two firms from receiving cargo on January 21 without stating reasons. Justice Dorcas Chepkwony of the Mombasa High Court however suspended the decrees for 21 days on January 25 to enable KPA justify its actions, only for KRA to claim the two firms had handled contraband sugar and that they were under probe for allowing transit goods into Kenya.

Naturally, ODM leaders led by party leader Raila Odinga are enraged and are accusing KRA and KPA of acting on behalf of the Executive (read Jubilee) to settle political scores.

After nearly a week of being pummelled by bloggers and social media activists for remaining in Mombasa in the wake of the killing of KDF soldiers at a Kenyan military camp in El-Adde Somalia, President Uhuru suddenly left for Nairobi to attend a memorial service with Raila and Cord principals Kalonzo Musyoka and Moses Wetangula in tow.

The Cord principals stood in solidarity with Uhuru at the memorial. But the events surrounding the CFSs and the statement issued by Raila on Friday indicate differences that escalated between the opposition and the State during Uhuru’s visit are now just beginning to show new vigour amid claims that the executive ordered the action on the CFSs in retaliation to Joho’s criticism of the president for visiting his turf without involving him as governor.

After Uhuru’s departure, a debate ensued over what his extended sojourn achieved and who between the president’s side and the opposition won the propaganda contest.

Early in January, Uhuru blasted critics questioning his long stay at the Coast when he posed, “Is Coast not part of Kenya?” and left after issuing title deeds in Mombasa and Lamu, launching projects like Mombasa street lighting and setting of campaigns for the Jubilee candidate for Malindi Constituency.

Some analysts believe Uhuru scored immensely for his party’s attempt to gain support in the opposition stronghold by issuing the deeds. Uhuru also consolidated the rebellion within Cord by rallying rebel ODM legislators to his side, getting new pledges of support from Likoni MP Masoud Mwahima and Lamu governor Issa Timamy.

This put Kilifi governor Amason Kingi and Mombasa governor Joho on their defence and even embarrassing them through allies like Nairobi Senator Mike Sonko. Yet, during the president’s stay, some of his allies like Suleiman Shahbal issued controversial threats over the 2017 elections that are now under probe.

Other analysts, however, say Uhuru’s open clashes with governors or quarrels between his allies and opposition leaders in his presence demeaned the presidency.

Conscious of the possible impact of Uhuru’s extended tour of Coast, opposition leaders adopted a dual strategy of allowing its governors to blast the president whenever they could and sustaining the highlight on the Eurobond scandal to distract media attention from Uhuru’s activities. And within days of Uhuru’s departure, Raila visited Mombasa to try and roll back the president’s gains, accusing Uhuru of unleashing propaganda during his 29-day stay at the Coast.

Some events came fortuitously to Cord’s favour when the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) declined to delete Wetang’ula’s name from the voters’ register. Raila used the high profile event to tell Uhuru that, “Jubilee can stay in Coast even for a year but when we go there, we shall wipe what they are telling the people in one day,” itself an acknowledgement that Jubilee’s propaganda blitz and harassment of Kingi and Joho were worrying Cord.

Meanwhile, in the wake of Uhuru’s departure from Kilifi, where ODM billboards were pulled down ahead of the president’s visit, Kingi and several MPs visited the same areas Uhuru had visited to attack the Head of State and challenge what he had said there.

Political analyst Maimuna Mwidau said that, “The opposition was put on the defence to some extent (during the president’s stay),” and that the President’s long stay emboldened ODM rebel MPs, led by Kilifi North MP Gideon Mung’aro.

“He has shown that the government was serious on land issues at the Coast by the distribution of title deeds in Lamu and at the Waitiki Farm,” said Mwidau, who believes Uhuru’s visit will pay off handsomely for Jubilee.

Opposition leaders appeared to be in a sense of panic due to his long stay, especially when Uhuru disappeared from the public for days leaving everyone guessing about his real plans, she added.

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