Former Nairobi County Governor Mike Sonko has threatened to back UDA governor candidate Hassan Omar over Azimio la Umoja’s Abdulswamad Nassir in Mombasa County.
Sonko while addressing the media said he has accepted the verdict that knocked him out of the race but said his running mate Ali Mbogo should be cleared to vie.
“It’s not about Sonko. Clear Ali Mbogo and let him be on the ballot, failure to which we shall support Hassan Omar. Take this to the bank,” he said.
On Thursday, July 28, 2022, the former governor lost a bid to have his name printed on ballot papers for the Mombasa gubernatorial race.
He had asked the High Court to order the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to include him on the ballot.
However, a three-judge bench dismissed Sonko’s claim that he has an active appeal at the East Africa Court of Justice.
The court agreed with the IEBC’s interpretation of the Supreme Court ruling that found him constitutionally unfit to hold office.
Sonko had chosen Kisauni MP Ali Mbogo as his running mate in the Mombasa gubernatorial election.
In his remarks, Sonko expressed disappointment in the Supreme Court saying they acted on his case with bias.
He said he was treated unfairly since the hearing and judgement of his case were rushed to deny him justice.
ODM candidate Abdullswamad Nassir is one of the frontline candidates in the race to succeed Governor Ali Hassan Joho.
The endorsement of Joho has earned him the ‘project’ tag which his rivals have been exploiting to attack him.
In the interview, Sonko also threatened to shift camp to Kenya Kwanza if he will be denied justice.
“I am not in UDA, but maybe they will force us to that decision. Don’t punish everybody because of my mistakes,” Sonko noted.
He said they will not allow to be coerced to support the ODM candidate since it is not about them but the people of Mombasa.
“The people of Mombasa want change. It is not about me but the people of Mombasa. They want change. We cannot be forced to support that project we won’t,” Sonko said.
