• Joho wants to expand ODM, while Kingi has called for a separate party; both agree on unity.
• Both are serving their second terms as governors
Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho and his Kilifi counterpart Amason Kingi on Monday hosted 22 lawmakers from the Coast to discuss the elusive unity of the region.
The lawmakers included senators and MPs.
Joho has declared he is eyeing the presidency on the ODM ticket while Kingi has hinted at leaving ODM for a Coast-based party. He has remained noncommittal on his next move.
Joho is the ODM deputy party leader and the Coast is traditionally an ODM stronghold. The ODM has opposed a new political party as divisive because it would lose its foothold.
Both leaders agreed, however, the Coast should chart its own path ahead of 2022.
Both are serving their second terms as governors.
The meeting in Nyali was the first in several months in which the two governors met to discuss politics.
Whereas Joho wants to strengthen ODM at the Coast, Kingi and Kilifi leaders have been calling for the formation of a coastal party.
Present were MPs Teddy Mwambire (Ganze), Badi Twalib (Jomvu), Abdulswamad Nassir (Mvita) and Kilifi Senator Stewart Madzayo, among others.
Coast MPs allied to Deputy President William Ruto were not invited. They included Paul Katana (Kaloleni), Benjamin Tayari (Kinango), Aisha Jumwa (Malindi), Athman Sharrif (Lamu East) Feisal Bader (Msambweni), Mohamed Ali (Nyali) and Owen Baya (Kilifi North).
Joho invited Mombasa politicians while Kingi invited leaders from Kilifi.
The media was excluded.
Leaders present said Joho and Kingi want a strong bargaining power for the Coast in the next general election.
Coast has about two million registered voters.
“The meeting was to form a common front for coastal leadership. We want to speak as one team and have strong political bargaining power,” an MP said.
He said they want to see if it’s possible to come up with one coastal party or an alliance of coast political parties ahead of the 2022 General Election.
Coastal unity has remained elusive, even as Joho continues to traverse the region to emphasise a common front.
The meeting on Monday was to mark the beginning of an effort to unite all Coast politicians.
“We are aiming to rope in all Coast politicians. We have just held our first meeting and will hold others," the lawmaker added.
In Lamu, leaders are also agitating for a common party to represent the coastal bloc.
Lamu Senator Anwar Loitiptip and Woman Representative Ruweida Obbo earlier said it was time for the Coast to stand on its own and establish its own party.
“We cannot always depend on other people to fight our wars. The Luhya nation in Western Kenya is set and so are the Mt Kenya and Northeastern regions. The Coast needs one too," he said.
Greed and selfishness are the biggest problems in Coast leadership, Obbo said.
"Coast leaders have agreed to bring all people on board. Governors are on board and if people feel the same, the party will be a done deal," she said.
Unity is integral in ensuring independence, she said.
(Edited by Kiilu Damaris)