With the 2022 politics starting to take shape, Mombasa County is emerging as the epicenter of the new realignments which will also most likely leave Governor Hassan Joho in an awkward political position.
Over the past few weeks, Joho's grip on Mombasa politics has seemingly been watered down by Deputy President William Ruto's renewed onslaught of the region with his trusted allies slowly shifting allegiance.
Jomvu MP Badi Twalib, a trusted Joho ally is seemingly gravitating to the Ruto axis if his recent political activities are anything to go by. He has attended many of the DP's meetings and has even pledged to back his 2022 presidential bid.
Badi who is serving his second term was first elected on a Wiper ticket in 2013. However, ahead of the 2017 poll, he decamped to ODM amid claims that he was persuaded by Joho, a top figure in the Orange Party. But since the famous handshake between NASA leader Raila Odinga and President Uhuru Kenyatta, the legislator is slowly becoming Ruto's disciple.
And with this new twist in Mombasa politics, where does it leave Joho?