Amason Kingi, Raila Odinga trade barbs in tussle for Kilifi votes

At a press conference in Mombasa on November 23, 2016, ODM party leader Raila Odinga issued a hard hitting statement in defence of Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi over corruption allegations.

A special team from the county assembly was investigating the theft of Sh1.18 billion and Mr Odinga was under intense pressure from the ruling Jubilee Party and the church to condemn the county boss for the loss of public funds.

In the press conference where he was flanked by Mr Kingi and his Mombasa counterpart Hassan Joho and Malindi MP Aisha Jumwa, Mr Odinga painted the county boss as a fighter against corruption, whom President Kenyatta should emulate.

“The governor and his team have not lamented about lack of powers to fight corruption and theft,” said Mr Odinga. “Instead, they have relied on the agencies that are controlled by, and are at the disposal of the national government, to get to the bottom of the scam.”

At the time, Jubilee top guns were on a quest to wrest control of debate on the fight against corruption in government from the Opposition. The party cleverly capitalised on governors close to Mr Odinga to argue he was a direct beneficiary of looting in the counties and hence had no moral standing to criticise the national government for graft.

That Mr Odinga and Mr Kingi are now reading from different political scripts is the latest illustration of the saying that there are no permanent enemies or friends in politics.

Mr Kingi and Mr Odinga have had an on-and-off relationship.

Just after the 2018 political unity pact Handshake between President Kenyatta and Mr Odinga, the Kilifi governor appeared to pull in a different direction. From the onset, Mr Kingi, who is serving his second and final term as governor on an ODM ticket, said he didn’t understand the Handshake’s purpose.

It’s at this point that he mooted creation of a coast party and went on to unveil the Pamoja African Alliance (PAA) last year.

Mr Kingi insists that despite Kilifi’s unwavering political support for ODM over the years, they have been constantly left out on important national issues.

During the 2017 General Election when he was the ODM county chairman, he secured all the seven constituency seats, governor, senator and Woman Rep seats for ODM. He also ensured ODM won a majority of seats in the county assembly, clinching 27 out of 35.

“Contrary to what he (Raila) stated, it is him who has betrayed the region. Kilifi delivered almost all the seats to ODM in 2017 but received not even a single nomination ... I begged him to offer Furaha the East African Legislative Assembly nomination, instead he gave it to his brother,” Mr Kingi said.

“We don’t have a reason to be in Azimio la Umoja. My friendship with Raila can’t solve the problems of the coastal people,” he said. He also brushed off Mr Odinga’s statement that he mentored him politically and offered him ministerial positions.

Mr Odinga has now chosen to directly seek support from voters, asking them to reject those who have shifted their political loyalty. He said the contest in the coast, one of his strongholds, had direct consequences on his political fortunes and having a resounding victory by ODM would be a warning shot to rebel politicians who have joined Deputy President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza.

In an elaborate strategy to deflate a seemingly energised Kenya Kwanza in the coast, Mr Odinga portrayed DP Ruto’s coalition as unqualified to stand on moral high ground on matters of public interest.