Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir and businessman Suleiman Shahbal clashed during the Azimio la Umoja rally at Tononoka grounds on Sunday.
Nassir and Shahbal are jostling for the ODM party ticket to succeed Governor Hassan Joho.
Reports indicated the event was marred by scenes of violence as youths supporting the two leaders engaged in fistfights.
The function had to be stopped momentarily as the leaders moved in to calm the rowdy crowd.
At one time, Nassir, who was introducing aspirants at the podium, was hit by a water bottle, forcing him to sit down and let Suna East MP Junet Mohammed take over.
“This is Raila’s function, we will not allow anyone to disrupt or stop it,” Joho said as he tried to calm the rowdy youths.
The programme continued smoothly but at the end, Raila called Shahbal and Nassir on the stage and argued youths not to engage in violence.
“You are all ODM members, if Shahbal wins in the nominations, Nassir will support him," Raila said.
"Should Nassir win then Shahbal will do likewise, we don't want to see the youth fighting because of leaders."
However, Mombasa county police commander Stephen Matu said they are yet to receive any formal complaints of chaos arising from the rally.
“We are working with what has been reported to us, therefore, we cannot make any arrest since nobody has visited our offices to complain,” Matu told the Star on phone.
Since Sunday, heated debates have dominated social media platforms on who is to blame for the chaos, but both sides of the divide have distanced themselves from the skirmishes.
Shahbal campaign manager Idris Abdirahman said their camp is always peaceful and they will continue being so.
“We have nothing to hide, because our team is not known for such kind of theatrics. The youth who wanted to cause chaos must be from the rival groups,” Abdirahman said.
“We were privy to information that rivals had planned to disrupt the rally, but their plans were thwarted by peace-loving residents,” an official within Nassir’s campaign team said.
The two camps spoke to the Star on phone.
Mombasa ODM branch chairperson Mohammed Khamis said the rally was organised by Azimio national secretariat, therefore, they did not have control of the event.
On Saturday, during the site visit of the venue, Khamis had warned politicians against any form of rivalry during the rally.
Mombasa county has been identified amongst 23 counties that are likely to witness election related violence during this year’s polls.
Last week, the National Cohesion and Integration Commission identified Kisumu, Uasin Gishu, Nakuru, Mombasa, Nairobi and Migori as conflict hotspots
Others are Kericho, Isiolo, Lamu, Bungoma, Kakamega, Vihiga, Trans Nzoia, Marsabit, Kiambu, Nyamira, Homa Bay, Nandi, Bomet, Murang’a, Kirinyaga, Garissa, and Siaya.
