Joho criticises Uhuru as he unveils his running mate

Mombasa Governor Hassan Ali Joho (right) celebrates with his running mate, Dr William Kingi, after unveiling him in Mombasa. (Photo: Gideon Maundu/Standard)

Mombasa Governor Hassan Ali Joho has renewed his criticism of the Jubilee regime and President Uhuru Kenyatta for allegedly impoverishing the Coast region and frustrating his county development agenda.

Mr Joho’s criticism comes at a time when Uhuru and his deputy, William Ruto, are touring the Coast to campaign for Jubilee.

Thursday, Joho unveiled Dr William Kingi as his running mate and criticised the President and his entourage, claiming: “They have returned here to mislead the public by launching projects they have launched so many times before.”

Regional bloc

Kingi, who is the dean of the School of Business at the Technical University of Mombasa, is a leading exponent and ideologist of the regional economic integration bloc, Jumuiya ya Kaunti za Pwani (JKP), spearheaded by Joho and other Coast governors.

Several scholars, ODM leaders, and JKP representatives attended the function and said they would stand by Joho and resist the Jubilee regime.

The governor said that whenever the President and Jubilee leaders visit the Coast, residents are treated to repeated promises that are never fulfilled.

He repeated claims that the Jubilee regime has refused to address historical land injustices and is bent on weakening the coastal economy

Joho has been at loggerheads with Uhuru and has accused the President of undermining devolution and elected Opposition leaders.

Their differences burst into the open in late 2015 and escalated during last year’s by-election in Malindi that Jubilee lost. The frosty relationship reached a new high earlier this year when the two leaders publicly clashed over development projects in Mombasa.

State agencies started near-simultaneous investigations of Joho’s academic papers and tax and birth records.

Joho sought protection from the High Court, accusing the State of persecution.

Last month, the court found that the probes appeared to be malicious and politically motivated.

Thursday, Joho said the alleged persecution does not frighten him and questioned the motive of Uhuru’s new foray into the Coast.

“We are witnessing modern injustices perpetuated by the current regime. I will not tire to stand up against Uhuru for the sake of our people,” said Joho as he defended his development record “as the first governor" and said he had followed the right channels to earn a degree at Kampala University.

Dr Kingi, 47, was selected to be Joho’s running mate following the defection of Hazel Katana from ODM to Jubilee.

Joho said Dr Kingi, who is also the head of the JKP secretariat, would be in charge of the implementation of the county’s economic blueprint, Vision 2035.

“I selected Dr Kingi to lead my transformational agenda in Mombasa. Like me, he is ready to put his life on line for the good of the people of Mombasa,” said Joho.

In his acceptance speech, Kingi said he would join Joho in the fight to bring more resources to Mombasa from the national government to enable him to implement the county’s Vison 2035.

Elsewhere, Busia governorship aspirant Paul Otuoma (independent) has picked former Chemelil deputy county commissioner Solomon Abwaku as his running mate.

Abwaku comes from Teso North, the backyard of Otuoma’s arch-rival, Sospeter Ojaamong, who is seeking to retain the governor's seat on an ODM ticket.

Otuoma is seeking to eat into the Teso region, which has about 120,000 registered voters. He contested the results from Teso South and Teso North during ODM primaries, saying they were inflated in favour of Ojaamong.

Abwaku, 50, has 26 years of experience in public service. He joinedthe public service in 1990 and rose to the position of district commissioner in 2008.

The Busia governor seat has attracted six candidates. The other four candidates are former Kisumu county secretary Humphrey Nakitare, Dan Barasa (Jubilee), Michael Oloo (Ford Kenya), and Francis Oyatsi (United Democratic Party).

Only Ojaamong and Otuoma have announced their running mates.

Ojaamong will retain Kizito Wangalwa, who is from Butula constituency, as his deputy.