Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala at a past event. [Photo/ nation.co.ke]
Tourism Cabinet Secretary (CS) Najib Balala has rubbished claims that there is bad blood between Mombasa Jubilee leaders who have been tasked with leading President Uhuru Kenyatta’s vote hunt mission in the Coast region.Balala who was recently appointed to lead Uhuru’s campaign team said he will work with all Jubilee leaders and supporters in the Coast region to sell the UhuRuto agenda.In an interview with the Nation, Balala said claims of disgruntlement among Jubilee members in Mombasa are false.The CS said the Jubilee team is keen to ensure President Uhuru garners majority votes in the Coast region in the repeat presidential poll scheduled for next month.Balala said their target is to ensure the President garners over 500,000 votes in the larger Coast region.“We are working as a team to make sure that Uhuru wins with a landslide especially in Coast region,” said Balala, as quoted by the daily.He asked supporters to ignore the infighting rumours which he claimed are being fueled by the opposition.Balala said the opposition no longer controls the Coast region, adding that the Raila Odinga-led outfit will lose terribly in the repeat presidential poll.There have been claims of disgruntlement among Jubilee leaders in Mombasa over the appointment of Balala to lead UhuRuto campaigns.According to media reports, Jubilee party members allied to businessman Suleiman Shahbal who unsuccessfully contested for the Mombasa governor seat feel sidelined after Balala’s recent appointment.