[Mombasa governor Ali Hassan Joho with Kenyans living in diaspora, February 20, 2017, in DC, Maryland, USA. Photo/Hivisasa.com]
Mombasa governor Ali Hassan Joho met and interacted with the Kenyan community living in DC and the states around it, at the Swahili Village, in Maryland.
He travelled to the US, where he attended the US State Department.
Joho said the Kenyan community in the diaspora has a completely different culture from a lot of Kenyans in the homeland.
''Here, the bonds of shared country are much stronger and the curse of ethnicity very much reduced,'' said the governor.
As someone who has been a beneficiary of the cultural mosaic in Mombasa County, Joho said he believed the future of Kenya is in embracing all.
''In meeting Kenyans in this part of America (wish it was possible to meet Kenyans from the other cities and states) I wanted to have an idea of what they think of home; whether they think our priorities are right and how they can continue to contribute to the development of our country,'' Joho said, Monday.
He noted Kenyans in the diaspora were very much alive to the challenges Kenyans face.
According to him, they were often embarrassed to identify with some of Kenya's poorly thought out measures.
''However, they are also very proud of our achievements especially in the area of devolution and sports. With malice toward none, we can achieve true cohesion and begin the hard work of developing every part of our country and sharing in our national plenty.''
''I thank them for their kind words, hospitality and taking time out to meet and engage with my delegation. I will carry very fond memories of meeting this group of fellow citizens,'' said the ODM deputy party leader.
They shared meals and took photos.