Joho politician to watch come 2017 despite Jubilee frustrations

Mombasa Governor Hassan Ali Joho’s political star is rising and is currently seen as a ‘stand out politician and supreme’ among the six governors at the Coast.

There is no denying that this ambitious and hugely popular governor is going to be a leading figure in coast politics for many years to come.

Joho’s rise is bad news for Jubilee coalition who have of late embarked on a campaign to frustrate him ‘economically and politically.

The charismatic politician is no doubt the governor to watch as the country heads to the crucial 2017 general elections.

The astute governor with financial resources to match is also on record to have said that he will vie for the presidency in 2022. An announcement that obviously will not augur well with his political foes.

First they started closing down his family owned businesses, withdrew his security detail and then later tried to charge him with violence over the Malindi by-election. This was in a naked attempt to clip his powers and influence in the coast region where the opposition Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) is strong.

The Malindi by-election in which ODM recaptured the seat has no doubt enhanced his political clout and fortunes in the coast region. It was almost expected that he received the kind of backlash he got from Jubilee that lost the seat after the hotly contested mini-poll.

It’s clear to all and sundry that Joho who is also the ODM party deputy leader is being harassed and intimidated by the ruling Jubilee administration because of his ardent support for CORD.

But the Jubilee harassment has only won the pragmatic governor known for his straightforward style of doing things widespread popularity.

Joho a former Kisauni MP and Assistant Minister is widely acknowledged as a shrewd politician, orator, a grassroots campaigner and mobilizer something that Jubilee which seeks to have a foothold in the coast region dreads.

His steadfastness in pursuing his political struggles anchored in social values has earned him admirers from the opposition and detractors from the Jubilee ruling coalition and of late has become subject of intense interest from political observers and commentators.