Mombasa Deputy Governor Hazel Katana is comforted by Nairobi Woman Rep Rachel Shebesh after she announced her defection to Jubilee Party at Luhar Hall in Mombasa on January 28, 2017. Photo/ nation.co.ke
The rift between Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho and his deputy Hazel Katana has taken a different twist.
Barely a week after Katana denied attempting to steal furniture belonging to the county government, the deputy governor has now accused her county boss of attempting to evict her from her office. Speaking during an interview with The Star, Katana claimed that Francis Thoya, the county secretary had given out the office to the Subcounty Administration department, a move that has led to the eviction of her staff members.“They called me in the morning, saying they were being evicted. Another team was being told to occupy the office, but I sought to know what procedure was being followed,” said Katana, as quoted by the daily.Katana further accused the county government of refusing to allocate them money, saying she has been running the office using her own money.“The office does not have running tap water, internet services, tea or coffee for my staff and guests. I have been buying all these using my money,” she said.Thoya, however, dismissed the claims and accused Katana of using the office to gain sympathy ahead of the August elections.“She has been playing victim of sympathy since she defected to Jubilee. As a matter of fact, that office belongs to the Lands department, but she was allocated some space after she requested to move out of the governor’s office at Prima Binns,” said Thoya.He further accused her of using the office to carry out Jubilee campaigns, adding that they found the party's campaign material in the office.Katana rubbished the claims saying: “They only found my cards with the name Senator Hazel Katana on them. But even ODM does not have an office in Mombasa and they [executive] have been operating from the same public offices,” she said.