Balala and Joho in epic battle for new king of Coast

By DAVID OKWEMBAH

In Summary

The battle for political supremacy in Mombasa, and by extension Coast Province, appears to have reached its peak with Kisauni MP Ali Hassan Joho and his Mvita counterpart Najib Balala feuding in public.

The two, once close allies but now bitter foes, have been sparring quietly. But the gloves came off last weekend after Mr Balala, the minister for tourism, took on Mombasa Mayor Ahmed Mohdhar, a close ally of Mr Joho.

Over the last two months, Mr Joho and Mr Balala have been fighting through proxies, but the two are now taking on each other in public.

The Tourism minister, one of the most senior politicians in the province, threw the first punch when he claimed that investors and tourists had shunned the port city, whose environs are popular for their beaches, because of poor service delivery.

He challenged the mayor to clean up the city, which boasts many tourist attractions, and accused the council of not providing clean water. He further charged that the city’s roads were in deplorable condition; many were repaired for the World Cross Country championships in March last year.

The Tourism minister then left the country on an official trip to Europe in the company of Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

The Mvita MP and his Kisauni counterpart are both members of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and hail from Mombasa. Mr Balala has not left any doubt that he has little time for Mayor Mohdhar and the general leadership of the city council.

Their differences stem from the nomination of councillors to the local authority that runs the affairs of the city and subsequent mayoral elections in which a group supported by the minister lost to Mr Mohdhar’s group, which is allied to Mr Joho.

Mombasa has four constituencies with a total of 32 elected councillors. The other two constituencies are Masoud Mwahima’s Likoni and Seif Kajembe’s Changamwe.

It is claimed that Mr Joho conspired with then Minister for Local Government, Mr Uhuru Kenyatta, to have his allies, and not Mr Balala’s, nominated to the council. But the Kisauni MP dismisses these claims.

According to Mr Joho, each of the four MPs from the district was asked to present names of nominees proportional to the number of elected civic leaders from each constituency.

“I have 11 elected councillors, and I was entitled to three positions. (Mr) Balala has eight elected councillors, and he got two nominations,” Mr Joho told the Sunday Nation. He said the same formula applied to MPs from the other constituencies in the nomination of councillors.

“What you should ask (Mr) Balala is whether he is happy with the number of councillors ODM allowed him to propose for nomination,” the Kisauni MP said. He said his other two colleagues were satisfied with the number of civic leaders they were asked to forward for nomination.

While Mr Balala presented the name of his nephew, Tawfiq Abubakar Balala, for nomination and supported his bid for the mayoral seat, Mr Joho proposed Mr Mohdhar. The two civic leaders are businessmen, and their mayoral battle was epic.

Eventually Mr Mohdhar carried the day despite the fact that his rival enjoyed the support of wealthier families.

The minister alleges that Mr Kenyatta made two extra nominations in Mombasa and wants the two nominees dropped.

But last Monday Mayor Mohdhar and Mr Joho took advantage of Mr Balala’s absence to attack him when the Minister for Housing, Mr Soita Shitanda, visited Mombasa Town Hall.

Mr Mohdhar, flanked by Mr Joho, said: “If I have failed to deliver services, Mr Balala should also share responsibility because he was the mayor (of Mombasa) long before I was elected.”

He accused the Tourism minister of abusing his office by using every opportunity to criticise him. Mr Mohdhar claimed Mr Balala was no longer marketing Mombasa but was “using state funds in the Ministry of Tourism to deny Mombasa its share of tourists”.

As the mayor went on a tirade, Mr Joho only smiled before Mr Shitanda came to Mr Balala’s defence. He offered to deliver a message to Mr Balala to allow the mayor deliver on his election pledges.

“That’s enough Mr Mayor. I shall deliver your message to my Cabinet colleague,” Mr Shitanda said as the mayor asked Bishop Margaret Wanjiru, the Housing assistant minister, who had accompanied the minister, to pray for Coast leaders and especially the Mvita MP, to work together.

Mr Mudavadi’s decision on which civic leaders to drop from the council will have a direct impact on the outcome of the battle for political supremacy in Mombasa.

Residents of the town appear to be getting tired with the never-ending wars between MPs which have spilled over to the council.

Already, the battle between the two camps has resulted in Town Clerk Wisdom Mwamburi being transferred from Mombasa where he had served for only six months. He was replaced by Mr Tubman Otieno.

Projects the council was expected to implement are also suffering as the two MPs fight. A garbage collection project that had been awarded to an Italian company, Jacorossi Impresse, has been put on indefinite hold with the same fate befalling a parking contract awarded to KAPS, another firm.

Last Wednesday, an attempt by Water minister Charity Ngilu to launch the local water board hit a snag after councillors and wananchi slugged it out. Mr Mohdhar’s victory emboldened.

Mr Joho, who has lived under Mr Balala’s shadow after he lost the Kisauni by-election to Mr Anania Mwaboza following the death of Emmanuel Karisa Maitha in 2004.

Mr Mudavadi will determine who, between Mr Joho and Mr Balala, will win the next round of political battle in the coastal town when he releases his new list of councillors.

This act will also set the stage for future battles, many think. Will Mr Mohdhar be axed, as some people expect, or will Mr Mudavadi rule that Mombasa was entitled to 10 nominated councillors?

Courtesy of:Courtesy of:http://www.nation.co.ke/News