Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho’s latest political forays depict a man in desperate need to catch his ‘mentor eye’ at whatever cost. Yesterday for example; while campaigning in Nairobi’s Masinde Muliro grounds, Joho dared Deputy President William Ruto to a bruising political duel.
“You will face me and I will hand you a very painful defeat,” declared Mr Joho, who is the ODM deputy leader. That it is tantamount to the biblical fight between David and Goliath since Ruto is a tried and tested political supremo with well entrenched country-wide networks as opposed to Joho who is still struggling to gain a political foot-hold.
In his Mombasa backyard, Joho will face –off in political giants; Nyali legislator Hezron Awiti of CORD and Suleiman Shabhal of Jap in his 2017 re-election bid from local.
Nyali MP Hezron Awiti of Wiper Party, has accused Joho of seeking to endear himself with Mr Odinga through hook or crook.
“Joho is wasting his time because Agwambo will not fall for his machinations,” noted the MP who has declared that he will be challenging Joho for the Mombasa governorship next year come rain or sunshine.
As a pointer to what is in the political stores, more than 1,000 women activists from the Luo community living in Mombasa who would have naturally endorsed Joho since he claims to have the eyes and ears of ‘Baba’ have instead thrown their weight behind Hezron Awiti’s gubernatorial bid.
Addressing the women from all six constituencies at the Wild Waters Centre over the weekend, Mr Awiti vowed not to leave the coveted seat to anybody even if CORD Supremo Raila Odinga or Wiper Chief Kalonzo Musyoka prevailed on him.
“I will not leave the gubernatorial seat to anybody even if Raila or my own party leader Mr Musyoka prevail upon me to step down,” Awiti reiterated.
“I am not fighting Raila since I am not vying for presidency but only seeking a lower seat where I am prepared to compete freely with other candidates like Joho and Shabhal,” Awiti re-affirmed.
All this shows the tough hurdles that Joho has to overcome before coming to the levels of Ruto.
And it shows just the level of sycophancy that the Mombasa governor is trying to go in order to get Baba's nod.