Has ODM’s move to oust Aisha Jumwa and her Msambweni counterpart Suleiman Dori from the party spell doom to the entire Coast region? A war pitting Mombasa governor Hassan Joho against his opponents is undermining efforts to unite the region.
Malindi MP Aisha Jumwa has declared she will fight Joho over what she claims are his plans to frustrate her political career.
Joho is an ODM deputy party leader.
Jumwa and her Msambweni counterpart Suleiman Dori, face expulsion from ODM after the party’s National Executive Council recommended the disciplinary committee to kick them out.
They violated party instructions not to support Deputy President William Ruto, whom they back.
Their survival in ODM now lies with the Orange party National Governing Council.
Jumwa is prosecuting the war against Joho.
On Saturday she accused Joho of sending goons to attack her in Malindi. “I will deal with you, not the dogs you send here in Malindi. I will deal with the master not the messenger,” she said. Jumwa spoke at a burial ceremony in Msabaha.
In Kwale, a defiant Dori said he will still win in any by-election if the Orange Party’s NGC decides to expel him.
“Leadership comes from God. It is only he who can decide if I will still be re-elected,” he said. Dori spoke on Saturday at Nyumba Mbovu, Kwale, during a fundraiser in aid of Kinondo ward women’s group.
Political observers say Jumwa and Dori are pawns in a bigger political war pitting Joho against DP Ruto who is campaigning for President.
Joho has declared interest in the presidency and potentially could run against Ruto. The war threatens Joho’s ambitions but could work in Ruto’s favour.
Interim secretary general of the newly registered Umoja Summit Political Party of Kenya, Naomi Cidi, yesterday called Jumwa a “sacrificial lamb” in the Ruto-Joho rivalry.
“It is like Joho is saying to Aisha, ‘You are from the Coast and you support Ruto instead of me, let us see what will happen’. That is the war,” she told the Star on the phone.
She is leaning towards Jumwa, saying Joho should concentrate on Mombasa politics before extending to other counties.