Governor Hassan Joho says he will be first president from Coast come 2022

The Mombasa governor has said the country should prepare to vote him as "the first president from Coast" in 2022.

Mr Joho accused the Jubilee administration of trying to impose a reign dominated by two regions and plotting to claim credit for the success of county development projects.

"Kenya belongs to all of us and all must enjoy freedom and opportunity equally," he said yesterday.

He criticised President Uhuru Kenyatta's statement that the Opposition should aspire to lead Kenya only after 2032. He claimed there is a conspiracy by the elite from the Rift Valley and Central regions to control Kenya.

"This country cannot always be led by two regions. I heard President Uhuru saying those who want the presidency should wait for 2032. That is old thinking," Joho said, adding that other regions can acquire power in a free contest.

The Mombasa county chief said Jubilee's defeat in the Malindi by-election showed that "the era of fear is gone and Jubilee has no future in this region". Mvita MP Abdulswamad Sharif Nassir said "the 2017 elections race has already began".

Joho and Mr Abdulswamad were in Majengo and Likoni to launch roads, sewerage systems and a hospital built by the county and the Mvita Constituency Development Fund. The two accused Jubilee of trying to impose its will on Coast residents.

Abdulswamad challenged the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to respond to last Friday's statement by National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale's that signatures collected by the Opposition for the Okoa Kenya initiative were fake.

It was the first time the two leaders were visiting these parts of Mombasa following the withdrawal of their police escorts in the wake of the March 7 by-election in Malindi, which Jubilee's candidate Philip Charo lost to ODM's Willy Mtengo.

Joho took the opportunity to clarify that the State had not restored his security as earlier claimed. But he said he was not shaken by the withdrawal of his security.

Thousands of residents mobbed the two leaders as they alighted from their vehicles to meet supporters through the narrow streets. Abdulswamad questioned the rationale for Mr Duale's claim over the CORD signatures and why IEBC had not discounted the majority leader's allegations.

"Under what authority was Duale speaking and why has IEBC not responded to these claims?" Abdulswamad asked.

"The State is fighting us because we as CORD are defending devolution and have proposed amendments to the Constitution to bring more money to county governments," said the Mvita lawmaker.

Abdulswamad said Malindi residents resisted attempts by Jubilee to rig the March 7 by-election.

Joho claimed that some local politicians were planning to sabotage a project to renovate old estates and establish new modern and affordable houses.

"There are people who are jobless and want to sabotage every development project we launch but we are telling them that a dik dik cannot hunt a lion," said Joho.

He alleged that the national government was trying to interfere in the management of the Coast General Hospital and take credit for its recent refurbishment.

"Nobody can attempt to steal credit for our hospitals," he said.