The Weekly Vision
The ongoing political tussle between Nyali MP Mohammed Ali and former Mombasa Senator Hassan Omar is an early contest for the 2027 Mombasa gubernatorial seat, sources have hinted to The Weekly Vision. Mr Omar is currently a Member of the East African Legislative Assembly in Arusha
The supremacy battle between the two took an ugly turn last week when the UDA party delegates’ meeting in Mombasa was aborted after their supporters clashed. The meeting ended prematurely after teargas exploded at the podium where Ali was surrounded by supporters. The incident sent everybody scampering for the exit door. Sources told our writer that there is a secret hand of former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko, he is the one suspected of fueling the whole war aimed at keeping Hassan Omar away from Mombasa politics. The MP and Sonko are great buddies as was seen during the last elections when Sonko pitched a tent in Nyali campaigning for Mohammed Ali until when he was declared winner by the IEBC, He is the only UDA MP in Mombasa County.
Sonko is said to be using Ali to tame Omar as he plots for the 2027 gubernatorial elections hoping that by the time the elections come, he would have been cleared by the courts to run for public office. Sources say that Mr Sonko campaigned for Hassan Omar as governor in the 2022 elections not because he wanted him to win but was on a revenge mission against Azimio’s Raila Odinga and Uhuru Kenyatta who engineered his impeachment as governor of Nairobi.
The game plan now, according to those versed with politics in Mombasa is to ensure Hassan Omar is first removed as UDA’s Vice Chairman and also ensure that in the run-up to the next elections, he plays no critical role in the party. The MP has been firing salvos at Omar whom he alleges used campaign funds to invest in his own business instead of funding his gubernatorial campaigns. Omar however has maintained that Ali and several MPs sabotaged his campaigns. Analysts say Mr Sonko is scheming to run for the seat in 2027 and is using Ali to politically destroy Omar. Sources however say that Ali has also been telling his confidantes that he will upgrade his political stature and run for the gubernatorial seat in 2027.
However, sources say he is only holding brief for Sonko and that the political supremacy battle being witnessed in Mombasa is not between Ali and Omar but between Sonko and Omar. There are also whispers that Mombasa Governor Abdullswamad Sheriff Nassir is contemplating abandoning ODM to defend his seat on the UDA ticket. Unconfirmed reports indicate that President William Ruto has been sending emissaries to have Nassir abandon ODM.
Ali and Sonko are said to be pushing for the removal of Omar from the party leadership role. According to Ali, Omar is the reason why UDA is not growing in the coastal region as they anticipated. Ali has vowed to cut Omar to size, clip his political wings and teach him a lasting political lesson in 2027. He was quoted saying “I am waiting for 2026 to come, after that I will teach Hassan Omar a lesson he will never forget in his political life,” he insists that he will be the UDA candidate for Mombasa gubernatorial seat in 2027.
