President William Ruto’s allies have largely been eclipsed as top allies of ODM chief Raila Odinga in Mombasa take charge of the UDA leader’s re-election campaign.
The new power matrix was on open display when Ruto toured Mombasa on Wednesday.
Other than Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, most political leaders who addressed meetings during the tour of the region on Wednesday were ODM politicians, who lead the “two-term” campaign for the President.
The notable leaders were Mining CS Hassan Joho, who previously served as Mombasa governor, his successor Abdulswamad Nassir, Woman Rep Zamzam Mohammed and MPs Twalib Bady and Omar Mwinyi, all ODM members.
The leaders, reading from the ODM-UDA broad-based arrangement, led the President’s re-election campaign, citing infrastructure development and appointments to government.
“President William Ruto is a leader of many firsts. For the first time, residents of Jomvu will pay as little as Sh50 for bus fare courtesy of Jomvu bridge, which had stalled for eight years,” Joho said as he rallied the crowd for Ruto’s re-election.
“For the first time this region has a PS — Transport PS Mohammed Dagar. We don’t take it for granted that you have come here over and over again and empowered us.”
He added that it is by virtue of his appointment to the Cabinet that he is now in a position to raise issues concerning Mombasa to the attention of the President.
On his part, Governor Abdulswamad criticised the opposition, saying they have no vision or manifesto.
“There are people who will come here with empty rhetoric, tribal and divisive narratives. Don’t give them your attention. If you have no manifesto or face, what is left of us is to pray for you,” the governor said in a veiled referenced to impeached DP Rigathi Gachagua.
He further reiterated that between now and 2027, ODM and the Mombasa region will “fully be in broad-based government”.
Notably, many of the President’s UDA lieutenants from the region who were present played second fiddle to the ODM counterparts.
They included Sports CS Salim Mvurya, Lands CS Alice Wahome and former CS Aisha Jumwa. Wahome’s remarks were limited to the affordable housing project.
Other UDA politicians from the Coast region were John Bwire (Taveta), Senator Danstan Mungatana and Woman Representative Gertrude Mbiyu (Kilifi).
DP Kindiki said they are now in one team, and led by CS Joho, Governor Nassir, MPs Twalib (Jomvu), Zamzam (Mombasa) and Mishi Mboko (Likoni), they are invincible.
Governance and political affairs commentator Onyango Oloo terms the ODM-centred approach strategic.
“Seeing President William Ruto in Mombasa, with CS Hassan Joho passionately drumming up support for him, amplifies the strategic decisions made by Raila to bring his ‘experts’ into government,” he said.
“His experts are now holding fort for him and Ruto in different regions of the country. In the Coast, Joho is king. Raila was not only rewarding loyalists, he was securing regions for Ruto.”
Nyali MP Mohamed Ali (UDA), who was missing from the meeting in his constituency, accused Joho of being an opportunist by participating in the launch of the projects, signalling his further dissatisfaction with the broad-based arrangement.
He said he was pleased to see Ruto’s official visit of the affordable housing project and construction of a market in VOK, Nyali constituency following his request to have these critical projects, but had reservations.
“I am equally appalled by those who are riding on this wave, when they are in fact the orchestrators of the menace and garbage that suffocated residents at VOK for years,” Ali said.
“The people of Nyali remember what VOK looked like, smelled like and what a disgusting and humiliating site it was under Joho’s leadership. There’s absolutely nothing that can sanitise those who left VOK to rot, no matter the cloak they wear today.”
While the strong support from ODM reflects a return on investment in Ruto's political deal with Raila, it also exposes his loss of grip on the region.
