Will Joho and Omar governorship contest tilt CORD support base?

Cord Leader Raila Odinga (middle) flanked by among others Mombasa Senator Omar Hassan (right) and Mombasa Governor Hassan Ali Joho (left) addresses Muslims after joining them in breaking fast at the Serani Grounds in Mombasa on Monday, 14th July,2014. [Photo:Maarufu Mohamed/Standard]

A titanic political battle looms in Mombasa County governorship race after top CORD leaders in the region declared their interest.

Senator Hassan Omar will battle it out with Governor Ali Hassan Joho in a contest that could shake up CORD in the area. Nyali MP Awiti Bolo has also declared interest for the governorship in the next year’s elections.

Mr Joho is the deputy ODM national leader, Mr Omar is the Wiper secretary general while Mr Bolo is Wiper national treasurer.

The governor’s main challenger in the 2013 elections, Suleimann Shahbal, is also in the race.

The senator has declared he is ready to battle it out with the MP for the Wiper ticket in the nominations. “This time round I will not leave the seat for anybody just because we are in the same party or coalition. I am ready for nominations because in any democracy there must be competitive politics to get the right leader to represent the party,” Omar said.

But critics have questioned the timing of the Senator’s declaration after State agents closed Container Freight Stations associated with the Joho family.

A section of political analysts believe Joho and Omar ambitions are driven by rival business interests and tycoons seeking to dominate the political economy and trade in the coastal city.

The Senator cites alleged lack of vision and weak institutions as failures of the Joho administration that have led him to declare interest in the governorship. He further points to “ideological differences” with Joho as reason to challenge him.

Strategic plan

“I have decided to contest the gubernatorial seat to improve service delivery to the people of Mombasa. It is not in doubt that the governor has failed to deliver. Development cannot be all about constructing cabro roads or providing some equipment to the Coast Provincial General Hospital,” Omar says.

On September 19, last year the senator launched a three-year strategic plan in a ceremony officiated by Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka and Senate Speaker Ekwee Ethuro.

But Joho downplayed Omar’s declaration, saying he is only following a trend set by his colleagues who now covet the governor’s seat. “It is his democratic right to vie because we know all senators want to be governors,” he said.

Omar says he briefly worked with Joho after the 2013 polls to give credence to his administration but they fell out.

The senator insists anybody who says the county government of Mombasa is doing well is a liar and Members of the Mombasa County Assembly are being used as a rubber stamp by the Joho administration.

Since he joined politics in 2012, Omar’s relationship with Joho has not been rosy.

In the run-up to ODM nominations for the 2013 elections, Omar, Bolo and Shahbal defected to Wiper citing frustration by Joho and his allies.

But after successfully campaigning for their respective seats on different political parties within CORD, Omar and Joho became close friends.

According to sources in the governor’s office, he gave the senator and Mombasa Women Representative Mishi Mboko a chance each to nominate a candidate to the county government Cabinet. Omar nominated Walid Khalid who took up the powerful docket of County Executive for Finance while Ms Mboko proposed Binti Omar who was appointed County Executive for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries.

But Mr Khalid was sacked after a vote of no confidence in the County Assembly moved by Budget and Appropriation committee chairman and Tononoka Ward Representative Fadhil Faraj Ahmed. Bolo’s ally and Kongowea Ward Representative Jabess Mdhai Oduor led the final assault against Khalid.

A source said the relationship between the governor and senator turned frosty following Khalid’s sacking and Joho’s reconciliation with Mvita MP Abdulswamid Shariff Nassir.

“No sooner had the MP returned to the governor’s fold than the senator began drifting away. It appeared the senator wanted to be favoured but the governor is independent-minded and reaches out to every politician,” said the source.

Some sources also allege that the Joho’s camp was alarmed when Omar became Wiper secretary general soon after ODM picked him (Joho) as deputy party leader, sparking a supremacy contest.

The governor’s allies see the timing of Omar’s announcement as a tactic to make him relevant in Coast politics after Joho’s sudden rise in popularity following his clash with President Uhuru Kenyatta last month. The governor recently hosted CORD leader Raila Odinga.

“The announcement by Omar is a knee-jack reaction after the governor covered a lot of political ground which has made him highly regarded in CORD and nationally. He is largely seen as a successor to Raila Odinga,” said Joho’s political adviser Major (Rtd) Idris Abdulrahman.

Bolo says he is ready for Omar claiming the “senator is only a media screen giant but absent on the ground”.

“My strategy has been working with the people to eradicate poverty. I am not worried about Omar and any other entrant in the race because I am always with the people on the ground. The people will decide,” Bolo said, claiming that Joho has not delivered on his mandate.

“The Joho administration has failed to deliver to the residents and therefore I will defeat the governor on the morning of the polls,” he said.

Political analysts have warned that CORD wrangles may give a lee way to Jubilee to penetrate the region.

“There is a threat of CORD giving room to a third option as Wiper and ODM engage in a struggle for the gubernatorail seat. This is a serious threat,” cautioned political analyst Maimuna Mwidau.