Mombasa UDA leaders in uneasy truce ahead of Ruto visit

UDA leaders in Mombasa were on Tuesday told to put aside their differences ahead of President William Ruto’s visit to the Coast region.  

Ruto is expected to tour the region for five days beginning Thursday where he will inaugurate a commission and inspect several different government projects that directly impact the ordinary Kenyan.

In a meeting in Nairobi, the main UDA players from Mombasa including party vice chairman Hassan Omar, Nyali MP Mohammed Ali, Nominated Senator Miraj Abdillahi and presidential advisor Karisa Nzai sat at one round table in a public show of unity.

The four are the protagonists in a political fight for supremacy that has threatened to tear apart the green and yellow party in Mombasa county.

Omar and Ali have declared interest in Mombasa's governor seat in 2027 and look to be in a fight for control of the UDA masses in the county.

A month ago, a UDA delegates meeting was aborted after supporters of Ali and Omar clashed.

On Tuesday, UDA Secretary General Cleophas Malalah chaired the truce meeting in Nairobi, which is believed to ensure the four sides speak with one voice before Ruto tours Mombasa.

A source who attended the meeting told the Star Malala was very particular about a show of unity, despite the failure of the protagonists to come to an agreement.

“Although there was not any agreement, we were told not to be seen to disagree in front of the President,” the source said.

The protagonists were told to attend every meeting that the President will attend in all the five counties including Mombasa, Kilifi, Kwale, Lamu and Tana River.

The Mombasa leaders were also asked to propose projects that they would want the President to address on his five-day tour.

UDA vice chair Omar raised the Dongo Kundu Special Economic Zone issue saying it needs to be speeded up.

Omar has been passionate about the project which he says will economically empower Mombasa residents through the thousands of direct and indirect jobs it will bring.

At State House Mombasa on Wednesday, State House spokesperson Hussein Mohamed said since November last year, the planning, survey and beaconing of 491 acres for the resettlement of people affected by the Dongu Kundu project has been completed.

He said the printing of 1,648 title deeds for the people of Likoni affected is also complete.

In terms of compensation, out of 1,756 people affected, 1,360 people, about 77 percent, have received and accepted the awards, according to Mohamed.

“The handling of grievances of the remainder is ongoing through the National Lands Commission,” Mohammed said.

The Export Processing Zones Authority has since November gazetted areas designated for investors in different sectors to operate from.

These investments total about Sh924 million and have already created 2,400 jobs.

This comes as political advisor Karisa Nzai was tasked with laying the ground for a possible netting of more opposition politicians to the Kenya Kwanza side.

On Wednesday, Nzai met Kilifi Governor Gideon Mung’aro ahead of Ruto’s visit to Kilifi county.

Mung’aro, who is in ODM, is seen as a possible target for the Kenya Kwanza side.

Nzai has been making moves to try and bring opposition leaders into the government side.

On Wednesday, in the company of Kilifi North MP Owen Baya, Nzai praised Mung’aro for the relative peace in Kilifi county during the Azimio protests.

“If you are keen, you did not see Mung’aro leading the protests. It is a few others who did. We know what we are doing and the benefit of what we are doing,” said Nzai, who is Ruto’s political affairs advisor.

President Ruto will commission a fish landing site in Kilifi County, further advancing the development of the blue economy and fisheries value chain, a critical component of the government's Bottom Up Economic Transformation Agenda.

Nzai said the ruling party is where the development of the region will come from and thus it is important for the Coast leaders to realize what they stand to benefit if they are on the government side.

“That is why you will see we will be issuing national identity cards to the Pemba community,” Nzai said.

This was reiterated by State House spokesperson Hussein Mohamed from State House Mombasa when he addressed the Mombasa journalists.

Mohamed said Ruto’s tour will begin in Lamu on Thursday where he will be in Mokowe, a blue economy and fisheries sector hub.

He will also tour other blue economy and fisheries hubs in Ngao in Tana River, Ukunda in Kwale and Liwatoni in Mombasa.

In Tana River, Ruto will commission the rehabilitated Sailoni headworks and rubber dam, and inspect the ongoing rehabilitation of water delivery systems and farm restoration works at the Tana Delta Irrigation Project (TDIP).

“This project, undertaken under a Public Private Partnership framework, will open up 12,000ha of land for rice irrigation, with an expected production capacity of 84,000 metric tons of rice per year,” Mohamed said.

This will significantly reduce rice imports by 35 per cent, bolster the government's food security agenda, and generate direct and indirect employment opportunities for over 8,000 locals, he said.

At the Tuesday meeting, Senator Abdillahi raised the issue of the Mtongwe ferry, which has once again ceased operations, affecting thousands of residents who have to walk a long distance to access services in the Mombasa CBD.

She said:

“The Mtongwe ferry affects landlords whose houses are being abandoned by tenants because of the long distance they have to walk to access the Likoni crossing channel.”

She asked that Ruto introduces the Open Sky policy so that flights may land directly in Mombasa and open up the tourism hub to more tourists.

“We told him to firmly and decisively deal with the drugs menace at the Coast through a multi-sectoral approach that,” Abdillahi said.

She also raised the land issues in Bububu where she proposed a verification exercise to determine the real squatters.

Nyali MP Ali said their main aim is to receive and welcome President Ruto to the Coast.  

“We have asked that he ensure works on the Mombasa-Malindi highway, especially in Bombolulu which is in bad shape, are sped up,” said Ali.

Mohamed said they want two more Level 4 hospitals in the North Coast, Nyali or Kisuani, and Likoni sub-counties because the Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital is being overused and may be overwhelmed.

We don’t have much problem with illicit brew but with hard drugs like bhang, cocaine, heroin, among others.

“This is something that is in the President’s heart. We want him to ensure that all security apparatus and stakeholders are involved in this fight,” said Ali.

The creative economy is something that most youth in Mombasa are getting into.

Ali said Ruto has delivered on about 60 per cent of his pledges to the people of the Coast region.

Former Kisauni MP Ali Mbogo said works on the Kisauni-Mwakirunge-Rabai road should be completed to unite the people of the Coast region.

He said:

“We stand united in our unwavering support for the Kenya Kwanza manifesto, which seeks to address the current economic challenges facing our nation. We earnestly urge all Kenyans to rally behind the President, united in a common purpose, to drive positive change and foster a prosperous future for our beloved country.”

During the Coast tour, Ruto, according to Mohamed, will issue grants worth over Sh500 million to different groups in the four counties.

“Later this year, he will come back, God willing, to issue another round of grants totalling Sh621 million,” Mohamed said.