Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho his Kilifi counterpart Amason Kingi and other ODM leaders during a recent political rally. Photo: Hassan Joho/ facebook.com
Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho has said President Uhuru Kenyatta’s effort to frustrate him are only making him and the National Super Alliance (NASA) more popular ahead of the August general election.
The outspoken county boss, however, faulted police for disrupting an ODM rally at Kinango in Kwale County on Thursday.Speaking at Tononoka Grounds where the opposition is set to hold a rally on Sunday, the governor said he is not against Jubilee leaders holding rallies in the region, adding that Kenya is a democratic nation. “We welcome the Jubilee rally at Mvita grounds. That is a true show of democracy. Let them hold their rally and we hold ours. There is no problem,” he said, as quoted by NairobiNews. The governor said that Kenya is a democratic nation, adding that leaders are free to hold political rallies without restriction on condition that they notify the police about their plans like he did with the Tononoka rally.“The constitution says Kenyans are free to hold a rally and picketing. There is nothing like getting a permit. You only notify the police which we have done and they replied that permission is granted,” he said while displaying the notification to the press. The Coast political kingpin further said that opposition leaders and supporters have the ability to defend themselves when confronted, but they chose not to because they want to uphold peace.