Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho has issued a strong response to a directive issued by the National Government ordering all county traffic marshalls off the city's streets.
Through his Transport Executive, Tawfwiq Balala, Joho stated that the orders were made irregularly and would not be followed.
On Monday, Senior inspectorate officers were reportedly given verbal orders from the Nyali Police Station, informing them that they would no longer be allowed to coordinate traffic in Mombasa streets.
“One of our senior askaris was called by the Nyali base commander who asked him to withdraw all the officers in his area and when we pursued it further with the seniors we were asked to remove all our askaris," Joho's executive revealed.
The orders were reported to have been issued "from above".
In light of the seemingly haphazard manner in which the directive was issued, the governor decided to ignore them.
"The governor has directed all the county inspectorate officers to stay put and discharge their constitutional duties," Balala stated.
Joho, who is still on a foreign visit in Ghana, stated that the directive was part of what he alleged was a sinister plan to frustrate him over his political stand.
Last week, the security team for the Mombasa governor and his Kilifi counterpart Amason Kingi were withdrawn hours after the two leaders had a public spat with President Uhuru Kenyatta.
