The fight between President Kenyatta and Governor Hassan Joho today brought Mombasa Island to at a standstill ahead of the relaunch of Mtongwe Ferry. This was after police mounted a heavy search on vehicles and people using Nyali Bridge in what Mr Joho says was plan to arrest him.
The officers from the Presidential Escort, the Flying squad and the General Service Unit were stopping every vehicle crossing the bridge amid claims of a plot to block Mr Joho from accessing town. After an hour of stop-and-search, Mr Joho, who had abandoned his vehicle to beat the traffic, arrived at the police blockade on a motorcycle.
The officers blocked and held him and Mvita MP Abdulswamad Shariff Nassir, who was also riding on a motorcycle. The officers escorted the governor to his office, where they stood guard and surrounded it before being joined by their colleagues from the Anti-Terror Police Unit.
It was not immediately clear what the police were investigating but Mr Joho, a fierce critic of Mr Kenyatta in the Coast, was among guests expected to attend the relaunch of the ferry. Later, Mr Joho held a press conference at the county headquarters where he said he had been detained in his office.
He said the officers had said they were under instructions not to allow him out until President Kenyatta leaves Mombasa. The governor condemned the office arrest, saying as the local leader, he has the responsibility of representing his people at the ferry re-launch.
The morning traffic woes saw passengers, including political and business leaders, from the North Coast spend more than three hours on the road. The traffic became heavy after the officers were deployed to Lights Stage allegedly to block Mr Joho’s convoy.
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Three officers in civilian took control of the traffic only allowing vehicles from Nyali Road, while blocking motorists from Malindi-Mombasa Road. Tired of the jam pain, matatu touts stormed out of their vehicles and confronted the officers. At some point, the officers fled the scene after they were overwhelmed by the touts.
But the Jubilee Party accused Mr Joho of withdrawing the county’s traffic marshalls in “a deliberate and calculated move” to cause a serious traffic snarl-up. “This is cheap tactics to win sympathy and to try and humiliate the President who is expected to open the Mtongwe Ferry shortly.” Mr Suleiman Shahbal, the Jubilee gubernatorial aspirant said.
“This is also a continuation of his drama-queen behaviour that has been witnessed before when he refused to leave a police station claiming he was being detained.”
