Sonko was attacked while making his way to the venue, just hours after announcing that he would join the outgoing Mombasa governor, Hassan Ali Joho, and Mvita Member of Parliament, Abdulswamad Shariff Nassir, at the event.
Police were forced to fire in the air to disperse the rowdy youth who expressed their agitation at Mike Sonko’s decision to join the Mombasa gubernatorial race.Â
The event MC, pleaded with the group to cease the confrontations and allow the rally to continue peacefully.
Sonko opted to leave the rally after the disastrous reception. He had earlier stated that he will be present at the Azimio rally since his Wiper party is backing the candidature of Raila Odinga.
Narc party leader, Charity Ngilu, was quick to condemn the former Nairobi governor, accusing him of displaying bad manners.
The Kitui governor stated that the Mombasa gubernatorial hopeful was in the wrong for allowing his convoy to force its way through the crowd.
Mombasa governor, Hassan Ali Joho, also had words for Sonko, criticizing him for planning to disturb the rally.
Joho also told off Sonko for criticizing him for allowing the national government to move some operations from the port of Mombasa to the Naivasha inland port.
Sonko’s entry into the race has caused jitters, with recent popularity polls placing him in second with 28 per cent affinity, 14 percentage points shy of Abdulswamad’s 42 per cent. The ex-Nairobi governor is also the latest entrant into the race.
Notably, the eligibility of the former Nairobi county boss to contest in the August election still hangs in the balance with Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission’s (IEBC) Abdi Guliye noting that the Commission would be deliberating on the matter and give a way forward.
But the electoral body stated that it cannot prevent anyone from contesting in the August polls, citing a 2013 High Court ruling that allowed Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto to run for office despite facing charges of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The sibling rivalry between Wiper and ODM threatens to scuttle the gains made by Azimio in the coast region.
Source: KENYAGIST.COM
