Nyali MP Hezron Awiti, Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyok and Senator Hassan Omar at a past function. Photo/ the-star.co.ke
The rivalry between Senator Hassan Omar and Nyali MP Hezron Awiti continues to hit headlines after supporters of the latter were allegedly barred from accessing a meeting attended by different Wiper aspirants. Business came to a standstill at a Mombasa Hotel on Monday after Awiti’s allies protested being locked out of a meeting attended by hopefuls backing the nomination of Omar ahead of the August general election.The aspirants had reportedly organized the meeting to discuss the Party's primaries and the picking of the candidate who will fly the party's flag in the Mombasa gubernatorial race before drama started.Millicent Odhiambo, who is allied to Awiti, questioned why the aspirants had chosen not to inform other aspirants about the meeting, adding that the party is supposed to hold public meetings.“If this meeting was for Wiper aspirants then why were we not invited? If it was a private function then you should have branded it as such,” said Odhiambo, as quoted by The Star. “I thought politics is public and politicians are public figures,” she added.Erastus Kaimenyi, an Awiti supporter, said the party belongs to all members and not a few individuals as exhibited in the meeting. “We need to work as a team if we are to clinch the governor seat. These things they are doing will take us nowhere,” said Kaimenyi. On his part, Mjambere MCA Khamis Mwabashiri said that Omar deserves to be given the ticket to go for the county's top seat since he has played a pivotal role in popularizing the party in different parts of the nation. "Senator Omar should be given direct nomination because he popularised the party across the country. We have not seen our other colleague (Awiti) doing that," he said.