Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho and his running mate William Kingi. [Photo/ the-star.co.ke]
Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho’s move to pick Dr William Kingi as his running mate has increased his chances of retaining the seat in the forthcoming general election.
Kingi, a university don, has a vast experience when it comes to administrative matters, something that makes him the perfect running mate choice.
One of the reasons why Joho settled on Kingi over other candidates is due to his education background. The county boss has been hitting headlines for several months after he was accused of forging his academic papers to contest for a political position. With Kingi by his side, Joho is better placed to battle his rivals as far as his education background is concerned.
Secondly, the county government of Mombasa plans to invest more in education as stated in its Vision 2035. Joho needed someone with vast knowledge in the field in a bid to achieve this goal.
Thirdly, Joho is banking on his running mate to attract more investors to the county. Kingi’s experience makes him better placed to woo more investors into Mombasa.
Fourthly, Joho needed someone who will fight for the rights of Mombasa residents without any fear or favour. Kingi and Joho seem to be cut from the same cloth, as both are not afraid of criticising the President.
Speaking during the unveiling of his running mate, Joho said he had picked Kingi because he is a person who can stand and fight for the rights of the people.
“Mombasa needs leaders who are committed to providing for their people and not traitors. The county does not need a leader who does not know why he is going for leadership but it requires someone who will stand up to defend the people,” said Joho.
“I have brought on board someone who will be able to put to task (President) Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto when they want to mess with our people,” he added.
On his part, Kingi did not hesitate to prove that he indeed possess the above qualities, as he hit out at Uhuru during his acceptance speech.
"Coming here to issue one or two title deeds does not solve the land question....cosmetic solutions to land issues will never work,” said Kingi.