- Ali on Monday said he does not understand in what capacity Mbogo is issuing statements about UDA yet he is a Wiper member.
- On Saturday, Mbogo aligned himself with UDA vice chair Hassan Omar and blasted Ali.
Image: BRIAN OTIENO
Nyali MP Mohammed Ali has told former Kisuani MP Ali Mbogo to stop meddling in UDA affairs.
Ali on Monday said he does not understand in what capacity Mbogo is issuing statements about UDA yet he is a Wiper member.
“I don’t respond to Wiper. He is a Wiper guy who ran for Mombasa deputy governor position on a Wiper ticket. He should stick to his party and let us do our party affairs,” Ali told the Star on phone.
Mbogo has expressed support for the Kenya Kwanza government and was appointed as the Lamu Port, South Sudan, Ethiopia Transport (Lapsset) Corridor Development Authority chairman despite being in Wiper.
However, his handlers on Monday told the Star he supports the KK government and UDA.
“We will soon write an official letter to the Registrar of Political Parties to tell them that we have left Wiper to join UDA,” said Richard Mwasingo, who handles Mbogo’s communication.
On Saturday, Mbogo aligned himself with UDA vice chair Hassan Omar and blasted Ali, saying he instigated the chaos that rocked a UDA delegates conference at the Government Training Institute in Mombasa on June 24.
“Today, we want to build the (UDA) party, someone called Jicho Pevu wants to break that party. We tell Jicho Pevu he must respect leaders. Whether Sarai is good or bad and that we helped him, he is today the vice chair of UDA,” Mbogo said.
Jicho Pevu is MP Ali’s nickname and Sarai is also Omar’s name.
Mbogo said just like they respect President William Ruto and his deputy Rigathi Gachagua, people must respect party leadership including Omar.
But Ali on Monday said Mbogo must first join UDA before he can start talking about the party's issues.
Image: BRIAN OTIENO
“How do I respond to someone sitting on the other side of the fence looking in? If he wants a response he should come we officially welcome him to the party before we can start engaging over our party matters,” Ali said.
He said Mbogo must first resolve Wiper issues, declare where he wants to stand before commenting on UDA issues.
“We are ready to welcome him to UDA. We will give him the UDA cap first to authorise him to speak about UDA,” Ali said.
He said Omar and himself are the ones who respect the UDA leadership more than Mbogo purports to because they stood with President William Ruto and his deputy Rigathi Gachagua while Mbogo was busy fighting them when he first wanted to be Mombasa governor under Wiper.
Mbogo had declared interest in the Mombasa governor position on Wiper ticket for the 2022 race, which had sponsored him to Parliament in 2017, before agreeing a deal to deputise former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko still on a Wiper ticket.
However, legal issues blocked Sonko from vying for the Mombasa governor position, which pushed him to support Omar on a UDA ticket after feeling betrayed.
“In politics, you are respected if you respect others,” Ali said.
“For now I treat him as a stranger. He was given Wiper ticket and Omar and I had UDA tickets. So when two brothers argue, he should stay out.”
On Saturday, Mbogo said Omar is the senior most person from the Coast region in UDA and sits in the party’s National Executive Council.
Mbogo has intimated that he may be in the governor race in 2027 or may choose to support Omar for the seat.