Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho, on Sunday, January 3, released a scathing letter accusing Deputy President William Ruto of being the force behind Coast-based politicians' threats to abandon Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), the dominant party in the region.
In the two-page letter, Joho, who is also the ODM deputy leader, claimed that a crop of politicians who support the DP have been threatening to form a new political party at the Coast.
He further called out the leaders claiming that they were enjoying the benefits of being members of ODM and Jubilee yet they have continued to criticise the parties instead of quitting.
"A group of current and former members of parliament from the Coast has for some time now been going around the region talking of forming a new political party supposedly to champion the interests of residents. There is nothing new in this push.
"It is the usual case of people trying to earn a living through fraud and conmanship whose godfather Kenyans know only too well," read the letter in part.
Joho dared the politicians to resign from their elected posts and seek reelection with new political outfits.
"There has never been a shortage of political parties formed locally in the Coast with a view to pushing the agenda of local residents. Formation of a new political party will only serve to divide the people further and undermine the unity that the region has enjoyed in ODM and which has enabled them push our agenda as a united region on the national stage," added the statement.
The governor also noted that since the handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga took place in 2018, the Coast region has enjoyed development projects.
"Like their sponsor William Ruto, these leaders lack the courage to say they have moved and they are ready to surrender their current positions and seek fresh mandate. We are talking about people who say Jubilee Party and ODM have failed the people of the Coast, but the same leaders continue to earn salaries on the basis of votes cast for Jubilee and ODM in 2017.
"As ODM Deputy Party Leader, I have seen the Coast region gain substantially in development projects since President Uhuru Kenyatta and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga joined hands," continued the statement.
Since the handshake, the two parties have seemingly appeared to develop different pacts of leaders who support or oppose the handshake.
Jubilee has seen the introduction of the Hustler Movement associated with the Deputy President.
Ruto has made numerous tours across the country to popularise his agenda while Raila seeks support of Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) aimed at altering sections of the constitution.
