Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho is moving quickly to tame the political resistance from Kwale county and the larger Coast region, few days after several ODM leaders in the region met Deputy President William Ruto.
Led by ODM's Msambweni MP Suleiman Dori, local leaders pledged to support for Ruto, dumping Joho who seeks to vie for presidency, a seat Ruto wants.
Read: Odinga in trouble as Coast ODM MPs disown him again; here's exactly what they said
Ruto camped in Kwale, Mombasa, Kilifi and Taita Taveta Counties from September 30, luring Coast leaders to support his bid.
In what seems to be a strategy to win back support from Kwale, Joho held a meeting with a delegation of leaders from Msambweni in Kwale led by former Bongwe-Gombato MCA and ODM Kwale Secretary General, Omar Boga.
Bonga unsuccessfully vied for Msambweni parliamentary seat in 2017.
"Since the handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga that ushered in an era of peace and tranquillity to our country, we have embarked on solving our many problems through dialogue," Joho said after the meeting on Thursday.
They discussed the prevailing political environment and the many issues bedeviling coast residents people, key among them land.
"Through such engagements leadership shown by Mr. Omar Boga, we can begin a new era of building bridges and bring down political temperatures," Joho said, declaring support for a possible referendum before 2022 general elections.
Also Read: 'Utajua hujui my friend', Joho warns William Ruto - VIDEO
"We may need to fundamentally change some of our laws to address these many issues. I ask Kenyans, in their personal capacity, to participate in building bridges of harmony and tranquility."
#hivisasaoriginal