- Omar who is also a nominated Member of Parliament in the East African Legislative Assembly accused Ali of being “petty and thriving in propaganda.”
- Ali and his foot soldiers have in recent times accused Omar of ‘stashing away the UDA campaign money meant for the 2022 general election.'
Image: JOHN CHESOLI
Division and cracks have continued to widen within the UDA party in Mombasa.
UDA vice chair Hassan Omar and Lappset chairperson Ali Mbogo have accused Nyali MP Mohammed Ali of playing dirty politics.
Omar, Ali and Mbogo are the most vocal UDA lieutenants in the region.
The three leaders have been trading barbs competing to establish dominance over the party in Mombasa.
Addressing his supporters on Tuesday during an empowerment programme for people with disabilities, Omar, a nominated EALA MP, accused Ali of being “petty and thriving on propaganda.”
“I have been in Mombasa politics for so long going against the likes of Kajembe (deceased), Balala and the Johos, but I have never seen such pettiness in politics from someone until now,” Omar said.
“He (Ali) thrives in peddling rumours and propaganda, we are watching him with pity, we also know what he has been doing.”
Ali and his foot soldiers have in recent times accused Omar of stashing away the UDA campaign money meant for the 2022 general election.
He has been alleging that the monies that Omar has been using to fuel his empowerment programmes in Mombasa, are part of the loot he stashed that was meant for the campaigns.
Omar asked his supporters to treat the allegations as theatrics only meant to derail his empowerment programmes.
“Let him tell us how many people were prosecuted from the so-called investigative pieces he did while working in the media. The truth is none, not even a single person to date has been arrested or interdicted because they were just theatrics,” Omar said.
“He must stop with his petty politics. He claims that he was the only one voted for, let me remind him that I ran for the county seat and withstood the ODM wave.”
In a separate function over the weekend in Kadzandani ward in Nyali constituency, Mbogo lashed out at Ali accusing him of being a ‘tourist’ MP.
He alleged that the now two-time MP has no house in Mombasa, and has for the past seven years been operating from a hotel.
“It is saddening that for the last seven years, he (Ali) has been living in a hotel around Nyali. He comes, does politics, sleeps and goes back to Nairobi.”
“He has been using you people for his benefit, where do you find him now when you want to see him?” Mbogo posed.
He called on the residents not to repeat the mistake asking them to elect leaders who they know where they live and can access them easily.
“He is now saying he wants to be Mombasa governor in 2027, let me ask you, are you ready to vote for someone you don’t know where he lives?” he posed.
Omar, Ali and Mbogo have declared interest in the Mombasa governor seat on a UDA ticket come 2027.
In a phone interview, the Nyali MP said the two leaders—Omar and Mbogo—are selfish leaders who are trying to bring tribal politics in Mombasa.
“There are no cracks within UDA in Mombasa. It is only the selfish interest of other people who think they do not need others to sit at the table with them,” Ali said.
“When I was supporting Omar’s candidature last year, he never accused me of being a foreigner. For Mbogo, he is not even a UDA member, he is from Wiper.”
He said the allegation by Mbogo that he does not have a house in Mombasa is untrue.
“I have two houses in Nyali. I have several others within Mombasa, I do not need to say where they are because that is my private life. Why would a man want to know where another man lives?” posed Ali.
In June, a UDA Mombasa delegates meeting ended pre-maturely after supporters of Ali and Omar clashed.
The meeting was to be presided over by UDA secretary general Cleophas Malala. Still, he was forced to cancel the appointment soon after supporters of the two leaders clashed forcing the police to lob teargas to disperse them.