Mombasa County Governor Ali Hassan Joho and former Mombasa gubernatorial candidate, Suleiman Shahbal have buried their hatchet and vowed to work together for the benefit of residents of the Coastal county.
The duo met and shook hands in a rare show at the Governor's Office, portraying a symbol similar to last year's March 9, handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and Opposition leader Raila Odinga which gave birth to the Building Bridges Initiative that has continued to unite Kenyans.
Addressing the press after the handshake, Joho said he and Shahbal have been friends for twenty years and only differed on political matters.
While citing the importance of unity, Joho assured Mombasa residents and Kenyans at large that he will work closely with the Jubilee party politician who is also a Mombasa businessman in developing the Port County.
Related: How Raila-Uhuru meeting influenced Shahbal-Joho 'agreement'
On his part, Shahbal said he will present contents of his manifesto to Joho and work collaboratively to uplift Mombasa.
"There are matters which I had in my manifesto and matters which he had in his manifesto which we will bring together and work on them to improve Mombasa," he said on Tuesday.
In 2018, Shahbal echoed his voice in support of the meeting between President Kenyatta and NASA coalition leader Raila Odinga.
Shahbal who unsuccessfully vied twice and lost to Joho, said Raila-Uhuru unity defined democracy.
"It is such moments that define us as a Nation; that we can disagree. Hotly and bitterly fight for what we believe in. However, when the necessity of time demands that we pull together as one nation with a common course, we don't object!" he said.
He added: "Such moments define both our character and maturity of our democracy; that the interest of the Nation is far much greater than our individual interests and ambitions."
#hivisasaoriginal