Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho during a past rally in Tana River. Photo: Hassan Joho/ facebook.com
The ODM Party has been forced to cancel a series of rallies in Kilifi County amid bitter rivalry between Malindi MP Willy Mtengo and Kilifi Women Representative Aisha Jumwa.
With Jumwa keen to unseat Mtengo in August, the two are embroiled in a bitter battle for the ODM Party ticket and in the past few months, personal attacks have punctuated their political rallies.
Aware of the repercussions of holding political activities in such a tense environment, the rallies which were to be led by Governor Hassan Joho who is also the ODM deputy party leader were canceled as the two were expected to share the same podium.
However, Mombasa Director of Communication Richard Chacha confirmed that the Kinango rally which is set for Thursday will go on as planned.
"Kilifi rallies have been put off until further notice. But the rally for Kinango set for Thursday still remains. This is just a rearrangement of our campaigns," Chacha said.
Mtengo and Jumwa clashed in public on Tuesday during a bursary awards ceremony in Malindi with the vocal Jumwa insisting that she is the person to beat in the ODM nominations scheduled for next month, as the battle for the constituency gains an unstoppable momentum.