Hassan Joho’s Friendship With President Uhuru Kenyatta Grows, Business Restored

Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho has expressed how his friendship with President Uhuru Kenyatta has grown in the recent past.

The Governor, who was once at loggerheads with the president, on Monday stated that his friendship with Uhuru has even made him more influential.

Elsewhere, months after the handshake, Joho’s family export and import business, which had been closed by the government, is now back on its feet.

Praising the friendship, the governor even claimed that he helped Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi get back into the country after he was stuck in Italy.

"Mr president, an old person can also lose his passport. That is what happened to my colleague. But being influential and because I am sitting next to the president, I used the opportunity to call the Foreign Affairs ministry," bragged Joho.

He further added that he told the ministry to simply find a way to have the embattled governor into the country.

A banner belonging to Autoports Freights Terminals Limited, which is linked to Joho's family, was on Monday spotted placed on a Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) container.

In 2016, Portside and Autoports freights services, were accused of smuggling goods worth millions and subsequently closed down following an order by Uhuru.

The State also planned to open an Inland Container Depot in Nairobi which the governor protested on claims that it would lead to loss of jobs for the Coast people.

On Monday, the two attended an event at the coast where the President was commissioning the new Coast Guard service