Nairobi News

Former Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho says he will contest for the presidency in 2027.

Mr Joho, who doubles up as the Deputy Leader of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party, stressed he is fit to take on President William Ruto in the polls.

President Ruto will be vying for his second and last term.

“I am done with Mombasa politics. The next post I will be vying for in Kenya is the presidency,” he stated at a rally in Mombasa on February 13, 2024.

Also present was ODM party leader Raila Odinga, and Mombasa Governor, Abdullswamad Sherrif Nassir, among other Coastal region party-aligned politicians.

After serving his second and final term as the Mombasa Governor and failing to help Mr Odinga win the presidency in 2022 Mr Joho briefly disappeared from the limelight.

He had been promised the Lands Cabinet Secretary position had Mr Odinga triumphed in the 2022 presidential election.

The vocal politician expresses his belief that if handed the ODM presidential ticket, he will manage to oust President Ruto.

“Who told you that if you are born in Mombasa, a son of Mombasa cannot be the President of the Republic of Kenya? Who told you that?” he posed.

He added as he vowed, “Let them organize themselves (referring to the Kenya Kwanza ruling coalition). They say 2027 they will be on the ballot, and I tell them in broad daylight in 2027, I, Hassan Ali Joho, will be on the ballot as well”.

ODM is an affiliate party of the opposition coalition, Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya, which also comprises Wiper and Jubilee Party (JP).

Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka, who has previously served as the country’s vice president, has also announced his bid to battle it out with the President.

Former Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya has equally announced his intent to vie for the presidency. So has former Defence Minister Eugene Wamalwa.

“I am the deputy party leader alongside my counterpart, Wycliffe Oparanya, who has also declared vying for the seat. I tell him we will battle it out, but within the ODM party and Mombasa people, you will be coming to the Statehouse to see me,” Joho confidently stated.

Mr Odinga is yet to publicly declare if he will be giving a sixth stab at the presidency.

But he has expressed interest in the Africa Union chairmanship, a declaration that, if successful, automatically locks him out of the 2027 presidency.

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