Kenya has promised to give land to the Ugandan government for the construction of a dry port.
President Uhuru Kenyatta said Kenya will offer Uganda a piece of land in Naivasha which will be for the proposed dry port for Uganda and this time around, Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho is not opposed to the idea.
About two years ago, Joho was among the front politicians who opposed the construction of dry ports in Naivasha and Nairobi. He then said the dry ports were to reap-off job opportunities for the coastal people.
In fact, the vocal county boss dared the Jubilee government that he will never stop opposing the idea until they drop it off.
“We will not cease from opposing any move aimed at taking away port services from Mombasa to Naivasha,” Joho said.
Two years down the line, another dry port is proposed in presence of Joho but the vocal governor is not talking about it, which raises concern if indeed he was fighting for coastal people or only for his family business? Or should we say he is pinned to the wall by the power of the famous handshake?
Joho only "had the pleasure of joining H.E President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Ugandan counterpart H.E Yoweri Museveni in a tour of the Port of Mombasa" where his county government provided a growth framework for the ports.
"As a County, we have laid down a framework to support sustainable growth of the Port and the country’s economy in our Mombasa Vision 2035," he shared.
It was reported that the Mombasa governor stopped opposing the dry port project after Uhuru offered him spaces at Nairobi's and Naivasha's dry ports for his family business.
“Things are now going on well. They will be up again. In fact, they have been offered space both in Naivasha and Nairobi,” a source close to the Mombasa governor was quoted by Daily Nation.
The spaces offered to Joho's family business could be major reason why the governor is no longer opposing the dry port move by the government, and another one for Uganda does not concern him.