I’m now ready to work with President Uhuru, says Joho

President Uhuru Kenyatta and Opposition leader Raila Odinga’s handshake continues to win hearts and now Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho says he is ready to work with the Jubilee government.

Joho had become a thorn in the political flesh of President Kenyatta and had made it difficult for Jubilee government to penetrate Mombasa County.

In an interview with The Sunday Standard, Joho said after Uhuru’s pact with Raila, he was now ready to engage with the Jubilee government to serve the people of Mombasa.

“Raila is my party leader and he has a made a move which I believe is in the best interest of the country. As a deputy leader in ODM I side with him; I am willing to engage Jubilee government on development,” said Joho.

Speaking on phone from Estonia where he led a delegation from the county in an investment meeting, Joho said that now that ODM had agreed to work with the national government, key projects should be felt in the region.

Immediately after the handshake between President Kenyatta and Raila at Harambee Avenue, Joho said in a series of tweets that he welcomed the pact: “To our coalition partners, there is a time for peace and a time for war. This is the time for peace. Not all of us may have fought in the times of war, but all of us must fight for peace,” he said.

In yet another tweet, he extended a hand of cooperation to colleagues from the opposing coalition: “It is in the interest of every Kenyan that this project succeeds. As we come with a clean heart and open hands, please remember that an open hand cannot shake a clenched fist,” wrote Joho.

“I fully back the handshake, but I still insist that issues of electoral injustice should be sorted out,” he said.

But his Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi’s remained cautious and said all he wants is for his people to benefit from whichever political arrangement. “Any political pact should be about Kenyans; as a leader from the Coast region, I will be championing for my people. I will be questioning what is in store for the people from my region. If my people will benefit, then that is welcome,” said Kingi.

Governor Joho said there are issues he will raise with President Kenyatta when he meets him.

“I will raise issues of the Waitiki farm squatters, I insist that the farm’s occupants should not be asked to pay for their titles. In the past, other landless Kenyans from different regions have been given free title deeds,” he said.

Joho also said he was opposed to moving some port operations to Naivasha town because it would deny people jobs. “The county government of Mombasa wants to get a share of proceeds from the Kenya Ports Authority because of the pressure it exerts on our infrastructure,” said Joho.

Recently, the national government gave a directive that inland goods destined for Nairobi and other areas be cleared from the Inland Container Deport in Nairobi.

The Mombasa governor also raised issue with acquisition of the old ferries in Mombasa, and called for construction of the Dongo Kundu bridge that will connect Mombasa with Likoni.

Joho and Kingi have declared that they are interested in running for the presidency in the 2022 General Election. The Uhuru-Raila pact has not only thawed Joho but also NASA MPs who on Friday and yesterday gave Deputy President William Ruto a warm welcome in his tour of the area.

In a region where Jubilee party only has seven MPs over 20 Opposition MPs, most of them from ODM, the change in attitude cannot be gainsaid.

Ruto was in Mombasa to launch construction of the Sh1 billion road in Jomvu.