Ruto receives warm welcome in Mombasa visit

President William Ruto received thunderous applause on Thursday evening from Mombasa residents as he made a stop in Changamwe to interact with them ahead of his three-day developmental tour of the Coastal region.

The visit to the region came after days of chaos that saw a group of residents take to the streets to protest against his administration.

But on his first day ahead of the development tour, the Head of State was treated to a heroic welcome with hundreds of residents turning up to welcome him.

While addressing the cheerful crowd, Ruto said that he had returned to the Coastal city to fulfil his promise to the local fishermen.

"I promised the local fishermen that I would return, I come bearing good news. I have allocated Sh800 million to the fishing sector to ensure the young people get opportunities to make a living," Ruto said.

Additionally, he said during his tour of Mombasa, he will address the issue of power connectivity to ensure that every household gets access to power.

He also said he would open a local market during his tour and also address the water issues in the region.

Ruto encouraged the locals to support him in his development efforts in the region by endorsing his recent Cabinet nominees.

His confirmation that he had decided to work with Former Governor Ali Hassan Joho, whom he named CS for the Ministry of Mining, Fishing and Blue Economy, was also welcomed by residents.

Ruto nominated former Mombasa governor Ali Hassan Joho to head the Ministry of Mining, Fishing and Blue Economy and immediate former CS for the same docket Salim Mvurya to the Ministry of Trade.

"I appointed a new batch of Cabinet nominees, People of Mombasa I ask you to support Ali Hassan Joho to become a minister in my government. Are you in agreement?" he posed with residents answering in affirmative.

"I have also nominated one of your own Salim Mvurya to become the minister for Trade to help us address the issue of unemployment for the young people." 

The Head of State said he nominated the two coastal leaders to allow developmental issues and grievances of the Coastal region to be addressed by one of their own.

The jovial crowd of residents responded with thunderous cheers in an apparent display of confirmation that they had approved the President's decision.

Present to welcome him were several coastal leaders including opposition's  Mombasa governor Abdullswamad Sherrif Nassir,  Mvita MP Machele Mohamed, Nyali MP Mohammed Ali and Changamwe MP Omar Mwinyi and County Assembly Speaker Aharub Khatri.