Joho: Why I want to be President

Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho has said he will vie for the presidency in 2022.

Joho said ODM is now on the right track to forming the next government following the naming of a new line up of youthful leaders, which he is part of.

Joho, who was proposed as the ODM Deputy Leader during a party retreat in Naivasha two weeks ago, says he is sure the party’s National Governing Council (NGC), which was to be held on Friday, will endorse him for the position.

“I want to be the president of this country in 2022,” Joho said. He said politicians with no ambition of climbing upwards ought to leave politics.

The Governor believes ODM, with its new set of youthful leaders that include John Mbadi as chairman and Ababu Namwamba as secretary general, has created a formidable and reliable team that will push Jubilee out of power in 2017.

He said he deserves the deputy party leader’s position due to “my loyalty and what I have done for the party.”

Formidable team

Joho said Jubilee “should not worry us because it is not as popular as voters have been made to believe.” He said ODM will launch massive rallies, recruitment drives and focused discussions in December across the country to prove this point.

“I am confident this is the team to watch. It is a formidable team that will ensure we win the next general election,” the Mombasa governor said. “Watch this space, for we are not stopping. We will extinguish this Jubilee dream of ruling for 20 years.”

Analysts believe Joho had a role in crafting the proposed list by virtue of his growing role in ODM and close ties to party leader Raila Odinga, a claim the Mombasa Governor neither denied nor confirmed.

“What is wrong with being an architect of the list?” he told The Standard on Sunday, fueling claims that Raila might have consulted him on the list.

He said he had spoken to all key ODM leaders, including those who have rejected the list, and confirmed that none of them wishes to leave the party. “We have all won because we are going to work together,” he said.

Joho has emerged strong from a series of legal cases against him and a recent Coast leaders’ forum.

CORD leaders and professionals from the Coast have also endorsed Joho for the seat, saying he is a tested national leader, loyal to the party and willing to take sacrifices for ODM. Mombasa County MP Mishi Mboko said the governor commands huge support at the Coast and in other parts of the country.

“Joho deserves the position because he has done a lot for the party. He is loyal to the party leader and the party. He commands a big support in the country which makes him qualified for the post,” she said.

Lucy Momanyi, a lawyer in Mombasa and an ODM member, said she supports Joho “because he has what it takes to be in that high position in the party”.

“I have worked with him and I know he has a big support in the country. I was involved in the party polls last time and I saw he had a big following during the aborted election,” said Momanyi.

Steve Odiaga, another lawyer and an ODM member, says Joho’s elevation as party deputy leader should be supported because he has been a member of all the parties associated with Raila.

“I was with him in NDP, the Liberal Democratic Party, Narc and ODM and since then, he has shown good leadership qualities,” Odiaga said.

Joho’s proposal for the deputy party leader’s position came a few days after Coast leaders endorsed him as their leader. “I will contest the presidency of this country in 2022. I believe that by that time, I will have mastered enough from my party leader to be president,” he said.

The governor asked other ODM leaders who have rejected the list to support those proposed, saying not everyone can win. “I have no problem with Siaya Senator James Orengo, Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya, Paul Otuoma and Junet Mohammed. I believe in teamwork for this is our party,” he said.

Joho said his first priority is to bring on board all rebels and members who have left the party. “I will bring them back to ODM because this is the only party which will save majority of Kenyans from perennial exploitation and marginalisation,” he said.

Massive recruitment

The Governor said he wants to rejuvenate the party at the grassroots in preparation for the next elections.

“When the party’s NDC endorses me, I want to embark on massive recruitment and devolve the party’s decision to people who will help in running it. I want to make it the people’s party to give it new look,” said Joho.

He wants the party members given opportunity to have a say on the running of the party at the grassroots. “Every party leader and member has a role to play in the party so that we go to the election as a team which is going to win it,” Joho said.

“Among my plans is to move in every corner of the country to explain to party members why they should remain united despite having been denied victory last time. We will move to every corner of the country and make them understand what the party wants and why they have to bring more members in,” he said.

Joho believes ODM needs Raila as youthful leaders reorganise the party from the grassroots in preparation for 2017. “Raila does not need to retire from politics because Kenyans still need him to make them realise the devolution dream. I am sure the new team under his leadership will form the next Government if the election will be fair and transparent,” he said.