Mombasa Governor Ali Joho has been in the front pages of newspapers for the last one month. His troubles have been the talk of the nation, and with all the controversies surrounding him, you cannot really deny that he is the man to watch in the fourth coming general elections.
Joho, who is a member of ODM was elected to represent Kisauni Constituency in the National Assembly during the 2007 general elections, and in 2013, he was elected as the first governor of Mombasa County.
He is said to be close to Raila Odinga, Kenya’s main opposition leader, and NASA Co-Principal, and at some point, he has been accused of financing Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement party using county’s public resources.
Joho's woes started when two major container depots associated with him and his family were closed in 2016 amid reports they were linked to smuggling of multimillion-shilling goods.
The Portside and Autoport Container Freight stations were shut down following an executive directive by President Uhuru Kenyatta, who oversaw the destruction of illicit rice, ethanol and sugar allegedly cleared by the CFSs.
The depots were later opened by KRA to allow importers and clearing agents to move their consignments following a 36-hour clearance order.
Several MPs in Mombasa and Kwale condemned the incident as 'purely political'.
Joho's troubles with the Jubilee administration did not end there,. In March 2016, he found himself in warpath with Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery over his fire arms, and immediately went to court with an appeal against the decision by the government to recall them, but Inspector General Joseph Boinnet said the order issued by Joseph Nkaissery stands.
“No amount of entreaties will change our position as we are still convinced he is not of suitable temperament at the moment to be entrusted with firearms. He must therefore surrender, as lawfully ordered,” Boinnet said.
After having a lengthy meeting with opposition Chief Raila Odinga, Joho said he was not going to surrender the firearms until all his options under the law are exhausted.
Through his lawyer, Ahmednasir Abdullahi, Joho argues that the move by Chief Firearms Licensing Officer Samuel Kimaru to cancel his licenses was political.
Nkaissery had ordered Governor Joho to surrender his three firearms, a rifle .375 serial number G1015273, two pistols serial number CHH 692 and VFR 841, and warned that he faces arrest if he does not comply.
Coast regional coordinator Nelson Marwa had also revived his rivalism with self proclaimed Mombasa governor after the government withdrew his security detail.
While speaking at a press conference, Marwa said only 'drug dealers' need more than one gun.
"Go challenge me in ICC if you feel offended, we can't have fools walking around with guns,if you are not a cocaine dealer why are you afraid, overprotecting yourself?" Marwa said.
Marwa said there was nothing special with Joho who lectured President Uhuru Kenyatta while the latter was in Mombasa.
Joho claimed Uhuru was 'hijacking' projects in Mombasa and launching them yet they were never funded by the Jubilee government. This culminated in Joho's security being withdrawn in which the government said was normal reshuffle of security officers.
Marwa and Joho have had past run-ins with each attempting to stump their authority in the region. Marwa now warns Joho he risks arrest if he takes his politics outside Mombasa County. This came a day after his rally at Kinango in Kwale County was disrupted by police.
The governor’s troubles seem not to be over after he was summoned by detectives at Directorate of Criminal Investigations in Mombasa over his academic papers.
Joho is alleged to have forged his KCSE certificate to gain entry into the University of Nairobi. A visibly agitated Joho pointed fingers at Jubilee and government agencies of frustrating him. He could be shut out of the Mombasa gubernatorial race if his degree certificates are invalidated.
Despite all the spats and run-ins with the government, a recent poll published by research firm Tifa showed that people in Mombasa County 'feel closest' to opposition Nasa alliance and Hassan Joho is the man to beat.
According to the poll, 68 per cent would vote for Joho if elections were held today, an opinion his critics and opponents dismiss and term it as fraud.
"In a nutshell, we dismiss this poll as bogus, cooked and with an ulterior motive to shape Mombasa people’s perceptions but (we) reiterate that the voters will not be deceived this time with such opinion polls,” says Shahbal, who will be vying against Joho using the Jubilee ticket.
But Joho still commands runaway popularity.