Go where?: Joho, Junet clash over ODM presidential ticket

The Orange party recently announced it was starting the process to identify its presidential candidate for the 2022 presidential election.

The party's National Election Board was tasked with running an advertisement in local dailies to invite applications from interested candidates.

The advert urged ODM members interested in the presidency to send their applications to NEB and pay a Sh1 million non-refundable fee to ODM's account.

Among other requirements is that a person must be a Kenyan, registered voter, a life member of ODM, and hold a degree from any university recognised in Kenya.

ODM party deputy leader Hassan Joho is among the members who have openly said that they are ready to contest for the ticket.

Joho, who is serving his second term as Mombasa County Governor, said he has been a loyal member of the party and has fought for party leader Raila Odinga on many occasions, hence is a suitable candidate for the ticket.

But Joho’s remarks did not go well with Suna East MP Junet Mohamed, the party’s Director of Elections.

“Go where”, the Suna East MP asked Joho, adding that they will meet on the ballot.

Through his Twitter account, Joho responded; “My friend where else did you expect us to meet if not the ballot?”

The spat continued as Junet challenged Joho to table the requirements before being cleared.

“Governor, they say when a hyena wants to eat its children, it first accuses them of smelling like goats…weka kadi zote juu ya meza (place your cards on the table),” Junet said.

This comes as pressure continues to mount up in the Coastal Region to form their political party, where ODM has reaped for many years.

Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi is among the leaders from the region who have openly declared that the Coast region must settle on its own political party by June this year.

“The people in the region are tired of being treated like second-class citizens during every poll and we demand to be recognised as we have more than 1.7 million registered voters,” Kingi said.

Other leaders allied to the Deputy President William Ruto have drummed up support for the regional party, claiming that they have been enslaved by other parties for years.