Mombasa MPs fail to end Governor Hassasn Joho and MP Masoud Mwahima’s dispute

Mombasa MPs have failed to reconcile Governor Hassan Joho and fiery Likoni legislator Masoud Mwahima who have differed over appointments in the county government.

Mwahima told Kisauni MPs Rashid Bedzimba, Abdulswamad Shariff Nassir (Mvita), Badi Twalib of Jomvu and Mombasa County MP Mishi Mboko that his differences with the governor can only end when the latter allocates some positions in the county government to Likoni residents.

In the past Mwahima has claimed that Joho did not honour a pre-election promise to nominate a resident of Likoni to the county assembly or cabinet.

The MPs had prevailed on the longest serving and oldest MP in the county to bury the hatchet with the youthful governor at a public meeting organized by Joho in Likoni on Sunday evening.

During the rally Lands Cabinet Secretary Mrs Charity Ngilu and chairman of the National Land Commission Muhammad Swazuri announced that the long-standing dispute between Likoni land owner Evanson Waitiki and 120,000 squatters had been resolved after the government acquired land for the residents.

Waitiki has since denied the Cabinet Secretary's and NLC chairman's claims over the land.

Ms Ngilu and Dr Swazuri seized the opportunity and announced they had reconciled before the cheering crowd at the Caltex grounds and pleaded with Mr Mwahima to also extend an olive branch and bury the hatchet with Mr Joho.

Mr Joho said he and Mr Mwahima were like father and son and pleaded with the elderly leader to end feuding for the sake of development.

"Hon Mwahima is like my father and I know he loves me as his son. I appeal to him to announce today to all and sundry here that he has reconciled with me because the county government intends to start major projects in Likoni and I want to work closely with him," Joho pleaded.

Joho told the meeting he had much love for Mr Mwahima and he would always back him as ODM deputy party leader.

But Mwahima stuck to his guns telling the governor to his face that he denied Likoni constituency nomination slots for members of county assembly and other key positions in the county government and he was not ready to reconcile until justice was done.

He however, said he agreed with Joho on matters of land and settlement of squatters and not his governance style and 'discipline'.

"I love the governor but he has shortchanged Likoni constituency in terms of positions at the county government including nominations for MCAs. The governor has a grudge with me and he must today tell this to the public. I am the defender for my constituents and I cannot accept to be taken for a ride," Mwahima roared at the meeting.

Before Mr Joho arrived at the venue, Mr Mwahima grabbed the microphone from Likoni MCA Mr Abdalla Kasagamba and announced that only Mrs Ngilu, Dr Swazuri, Mr Joho and Ms Mboko would address the meeting.

"This is not a free-for-all meeting. I am not going to allow everybody to speak, and I mean it. I am in charge of Likoni," Mwahima declared.

But when Ms Mboko stood to speak, she invited all MCAs present to speak saying land was the concern of all leaders in the county government. The ODM- dominated county assembly has 15 nominated MCAs, mostly women and Mwahima claims none of the beneficiaries comes from Likoni constituency.

Mr Mwahima has also been grumbling that Likoni constituency has not benefited from 10 slots for the county executive committee members.

In their speeches, Mr Bedzimba, Mr Nassir, Mr Twalib and Ms Mboko pleaded with the governor and Mr Mwahima to end feuding saying the quarrels are counterproductive.

Mr Bedzimba who was the first MP to speak said he was deeply concerned about the persistent feuding by the governor and Mr Mwahima who are both his close friends.

"Mwahima is our senior most MP in the county and should end the feuds with the governor. Mwahima should know that the county government has a role to play in land issues and work with it in harmony," Bedzimba said.

Mr Nassir offered to organize a mediation meeting between Mr Joho and Mr Mwahima in the house of his father Shariff Nassir to resolve the standoff.

"I know that the standoff between the governor and Mzee Mwahima has a bearing on the 2017 elections but this is too far. We should resolve the differences fulfil the election pledges we made to Mombasa voters as an ODM team during the last election campaigns," Nassir said.

While calling on governor and Mwahima to work together, Mr Twalib claimed owners of large parcels of land were behind feuding between Mrs Ngilu and Dr Swazuri.

"Mrs Ngilu and Dr Swazuri are being incited against each other by land owners so as to sabotage the squatter settlement programme in the country," Twalib said.

Ms Mboko said there should be unity of purpose between Ngilu and Swazuri on one hand and Mr Joho and Mwahima on the other hand to improve service delivery.

"We are going to lobby other MPs and amprove any budget proposals to enable government to acquire land for squatters," Mboko said.