Leave my family and friends out of my woes, Joho tells govt

Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho now claims the national government is harassing his family and friends.

Speaking after presiding over a ceremony in which the Aga Khan Health Services-Kenya signed a hospital expansion financing agreement with Agence Française de Développement (AFD) at the Aga Khan Hospital in Mombasa, Mr Joho claimed a raid by the police targeted a house belonging to one of his friends.

However, Mr Joho did not name the friend.

“So many police officers raided my friend’s house, but I did not know what they were looking for. I was informed that they got nothing there,” he said.

“My family and friends must not be dragged into these issues. They should be left [in] peace and let me alone to suffer for this one year because I know it will end this year,” he said.

The governor’s bodyguards and those of his Kilifi’s Amason Kingi were withdrawn last week but reinstated two days later.

REJECTS NEW SECURITY

Mr Joho, however, has turned down the security officers assigned to him by the government.

The governor cautioned Inspector-General of Police Joseph Boinnet and Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery, saying that as with others before them, their terms will end.

“I am telling the IG that I have seen and dealt with people like him before. Even Nkaissery and President Uhuru Kenyatta — their term will end, and so my suffering is only for a time,” he said.

The governor said his rejection of government security guards still stands.

He confirmed that he had moved from his Nyali residence to another place that he declined to disclose.

“I know that the government has all machinery to know where I moved to, but I cannot reveal the place to them,” he said.