Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho at a past event. [Photo/ the-star.co.ke]
After many months of shopping for a running mate, Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho is said to have settled on a university don as his deputy to replace Hazel Katana in the run to the August polls.
Earlier reports indicated that Joho had settled on County Secretary Francis Thoya as his running mate.
However, the choice of Thoya was seemingly not welcomed by those close to the Governor, forcing him to go back to the drawing board before finally settling on Dr William Kingi, Dean of the School of Business at Technical University of Mombasa.
Sources indicate that the ODM deputy party leader is keen to cast his political nest wide and that the decision to settle on Dr Kingi was informed by the desire to bring all the Christians in the county to his side considering he is himself a Muslim.
When contacted for a comment on the latest development by the Nation, Mombasa Director of Communications Richard Chacha said he was aware of the changes that led to Thoya being dropped.
“I have not been told anything either by the Governor or anybody else. What I know is that announcing the running mate is the Governor's prerogative,” he said, as quoted.
Sources within the Governor's administration indicate that Joho is set to make the major announcement within a week.