Sophie Njoka, @PeopleDailyKE
Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho and Othaya MP Mary Wambui have denied any involvement in international drugs business and dared the government to arrest them if any evidence exists to implicate them.
In a televised press conference, Joho accused President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto of targeting him in their renewed war against drug trafficking in Mombasa.
The governor said he had been cleared of accusations of being a drug lord both by the police and Parliament, insisting he had nothing to fear.
The governor, who resorted to insolent language, claimed the government was trying to brand him a drug baron in an attempt to bring him down ahead of the August elections.
Equally agitated over the drug links was Wambui who, while inspecting the voter registration exercise in her Othaya constituency, said the allegations were politically motivated. The MP said she had nothing to hide. “I am a God-fearing woman and my focus is to deliver development to Othaya residents because this is what I was elected to do,” she said.
The names of Joho and the MP were published alongside those of six other prominent politicians and business people six years ago by the then Internal Security minister George Saitoti.
The names had been released by United States Embassy in Nairobi prompting the six to deny the allegations which had been tabled in Parliament by Saitoti. Subsequent police and parliamentary investigations cleared them.
Meanwhile, Members of the National Assembly from the Coast region have urged President Uhuru and his deputy William Ruto to deploy government resources to identify, arrest and prosecute suspected drug barons in the region.
The MPs, led by Abdulswamad Shariff Nassir (Mvita) said the government should improve its efforts in taming the drug trade at the Coast by sealing all borders. Nassir said the Executive should deal firmly with the barons by ensuring they do not continue with their business.
Nassir, accompanied by Mishi Mboko (Mombasa), Omar Mwinyi (Changamwe) and Rahid Bedzimba (Kisauni) said the issue of drugs had been politicised.
“The government knows these people and it should not hesitate in arresting them. The Regional Commissioner (Nelson Marwa) should take action instead of issuing threats at press conferences,” Nassir said.
On his part, Joho said: “I am not surprised by the allegations because just like the 2013 election the same debate was brought up. One of the biggest debates and campaigns against me was that of drugs, so I am not surprised that they are introducing the same now,” said the governor.
He claimed that the government was merely engaging in a smear campaign meant to intimidate him. “Nobody has spoken to me. I have not been made aware that I am under any investigation,” he said. He added: “If the government knows the drug traffickers and if I am one of them, why haven’t they arrested me?
What are they waiting for? Let them act upon those involved instead of empty threats,” an agitated Joho said. He said he is not ready to cooperate with investigators from the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), insisting he is a clean man.
“How can I co-operate with the said investigations while I am not aware of what I am being investigated for?” he posed. He, however, acknowledged that drug abuse is a menace in the Coast region that required concerted efforts to eradicate through rehabilitation of addicts and arrest of peddlers.
“It’s a vice that requires all the stakeholders including political leaders, security agencies and the government to work together, if it is to be eradicated,” said Joho.
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