ODM members welcome Joho's fast rise in party

The meteoric rise of Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho’s political star and his evident closeness to opposition chief Raila Odinga, is causing jitters within the Coalition for Reform and Democracy (Cord).

Mr Joho has, twice in less than 10 days, proclaimed himself the new powerful pivot of Mr Odinga’s 2017 State House bid.

In two events in Mombasa and in Nairobi, Governor Joho played a key role in amassing supporters of the party and endorsing Mr Odinga for the top job in 2017.

The county boss — almost singlehandedly — organised and financed the Mombasa ODM rally on the same day as Jubilee’s well-publicised party launch in Kasarani, Nairobi, complete with vehicles branded with his pictures and those of Mr Odinga.

“When you see me, you know Raila is here. I fully represent the ODM party,” Governor Joho told supporters in Nairobi on Sunday.

The new camaraderie with the Cord leader and his announcement that he will go for the top job in 2022, has led to questions whether Mr Odinga was grooming him to take the place of the Cord co-principal ahead of the August 2017 polls.

Mr Odinga, and his co-principals, Wiper’s Kalonzo Musyoka and Moses Wetang’ula of Ford Kenya, are seeking the Cord presidential ticket.

There have been growing fears of a fallout in the Cord presidential candidate nominations.

The new law barring party-hopping further complicates the 2017 political chess games.

Already, Mr Wetang’ula and his supporters have told off Mr Odinga for his charm offensive in western Kenya, a sign analysts say shows the fragile relations between the co-principals.

On Sunday, Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale, Ford Kenya’s new deputy party leader and Mr Wetang’ula’s closest ally, said that Governor Joho was not in the league of the Cord co-principals.

“(Governor) Joho is just a deputy of Raila in ODM. That is all. No one can put him at the level of Wetang’ula and Kalonzo. The only person he can compete with at his level is the other ODM deputy party leader, (Kakamega) Governor (Wycliffe) Oparanya,” said Dr Khalwale.

PERFORMING HIS DUTY
On Sunday, Mr Joho led ODM supporters in endorsing Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero for the city job next year, and warned politicians who defected from ODM to Jubilee that they would lose come 2017.

Even if Mr Odinga were to replace any of the other two principals with Mr Joho, Dr Khalwale said, it would add no value to him.

“The constituencies controlled by Wetang’ula and Kalonzo and those controlled by Joho, will never cross in any way. Joho does not control the Wiper zones in Mombasa, nor does he have any clout over any of Ford Kenya’s zones,” said Dr Khalwale.

Notably, Mr Joho was emboldened following ODM’s win in the Malindi by-election in March.

ODM’s Willy Mtengo beat Jubilee’s Philip Charo, after the appointment of Dan Kazungu as Mining Cabinet secretary.

Though Mr Oparanya has been at the forefront in selling the party in his western Kenya backyard, it is Mr Joho’s bold and aggressive political antics that have seen him position himself as Mr Odinga’s most loyal deputy.

But ODM chairman John Mbadi defended Mr Joho, saying he was just doing his job as the party’s deputy party leader.

“What you are seeing is a revamped ODM and Joho is just doing his job, and the party is happy with him,” said Mr Mbadi.

Being second-in-command at ODM, governors Joho and Oparanya’s positions are important ones.

Mr Mbadi said that Governor Oparanya had equally done well by organising a series of rallies addressed by Mr Odinga in western Kenya.

During the Mombasa rally on September 10, Governor Joho told Mr Odinga to “let me deal with Jubilee for you”.

“Raila, you have fought for us, and have created a huge following. I have now said: Leave the fighting of Uhuru and Ruto to me. Just do the small bits,” he said to wild applause from the crowd.