MP Ali fights for Coast kingpin as Joho is nominated to Cabinet

 

President Ruto pictured with Nyali MP Mohammed Ali 

Is Nyali MP Mohammed Ali increasingly becoming a lone ranger in the Mombasa political arena?

The former journalist said he will single-handedly steer the UDA ship - if that is what it takes to prove his political strength.

He has now amassed more enemies than friends in the local political scene.

Ali asked President William Ruto to allow him to deal with his woes.

“Even if you have said we will create a unifying government, please leave the local politics to us so we can fight it out,” Ali said on Monday.

In the presence of his party boss, the President, the Nyali MP fired salvos at Mining and Blue Economy CS nominee Hassan Joho, Governor Abdulswamad Nassir and UDA vice chair Hassan Omar. 

“Let me handle Joho, Abdulswamad and add on top of it Hassan Sarai, so I can beat them...Let them bring Joho, Abdulswamad and Sarai, they are all the same.” 

His body may be small, Ali said, but it has the strength of a railway line.

This elicited sharp reaction from Woman representative ZamZam Mohamed, who claimed the MP is trying to stoke politics of discrimination.

The nomination of the former Mombasa governor was met with jubilation in the county, in what was seen as an indicator of his political strength. 

On Thursday, Joho made a triumphant entry back to Mombasa after months in Nairobi, but deflected the limelight to his new-found "political ally"- the President.

Despite this seeming show of strength, Ali said people should not be threatened by Joho’s return to the political scene. 

Political observers weighed in on the Nyali MP's sentiments.

 

Mwakuja Mrombo, a Mombasa-based analyst, said no politician can ignore Joho’s entry into the political arena.

Mrombo said Joho has 'sleeper cell' supporters in Kisauni, where he was MP.

Should he activate them, the former governor will again have massive political power in Mombasa.

Joho's potential teaming up with Omar should also be considered, as this will give the two the political power to shape the county's politics. 

Omar has for months been vocal about the need to unite with Joho and other ODM members in the region. 

“He (Ali) was the favourite of Ruto here in the Coast. But it seems things are changing and he deems that he is being slowly sidelined. A new arrangement is coming up and so far nobody knows how it will pan out,” Mrombo said.

With Joho and Omar in a political ‘bromance’, Ali will have to summon all he has to outmaneuver the two, whose interests seem to be aligning.

“Politics is about interests and right now Ali is standing on a carpet. When the carpet is pulled out from under his feet, he will fall. Unless he nails the carpet to the ground,” Mrombo said.

The looming change of guard at ODM following Wycliffe Oparanya's nomination for a CS position is also likely to bring a wind of change in Mombasa. 

Abdulswamad is reportedly being considered for the deputy party leader position, alongside Kisii Governor Simba Arati, to replace Joho and Oparanya. 

The nominations came in response to agitation from Gen Zs, who have demanded better governance and replacement of ineffective holders of high office. 

Following weeks of protest, the President fired his Cabinet, paving way for its reconstitution. 

“The Gen Z demography is threatening everybody. Ali used to control a certain demography in Nyali and Kisauni but the emergence of Gen Z has changed everything,” Mrombo said.

It is therefore in Ali’s interest for Joho to stay out of Mombasa politics and concentrate on the national scene.

Ali expressed the same following Joho's nomination.

“And we will welcome our brother Joho, but if you give him the flag he should know that is not a Mombasa flag but that of the whole country,” the Nyali MP said on Monday. 

Frankline Nzao, another political analyst, said Ali came into politics through ODM, before he was betrayed and jolted.

“He then rode on the then anti-Joho sentiment and won the Nyali seat,” Nzao said.

Ali delivered tangible results for the residents of Nyali, which endeared him to them. 

“So, any attempt to work with Joho in any way will weaken his position politically. That is why he is vehement that although they will be forced to work together, he still has his reservations,” he said.

Time will tell how Ali will hold, as he is seen to be a one-man army.

“If the political wave starts in a big area like in Likoni or Kisauni, it will wipe out the small wave of the sober minds that are following or managing Nyali politics,” Nzao said.

by BRIAN OTIENO