Joho takes on Treasury CS Henry Rotich over missing Ksh 23.6B

Mombasa Governor, Ali Hassan Joho, has asked Treasury Cabinet Secretary, Henry Rotich, to explain how much money the Mombasa County Government has received from the National Government in the past four years.

In a letter addressed to Mr Rotich, Joho says his county government has received only 16.4 billion shillings and not 40 billion shillings as claimed by President Uhuru Kenyatta during his recent tour of the county.

Joho now wants Treasury to disburse the remaining 23.6 billion shillings that his government is yet to receive.

This comes amid verbal altercations between him and the President.

Joho has emerged as a fierce critic of President Kenyatta and the move to bar him from the President’s event is widely seen as an attempt to avert any potential political exchanges with the Head of State.

President Kenyatta had on Monday, March 13, accused Joho of pestering him and interfering with his work.

The President said Joho, who was put under office arrest on Monday, should focus on dispensing his duties as governor, instead of interfering with national government projects.

In a quick rejoinder, Joho through the Director of Communications and Public Relations of the County Government of Mombasa, said he will not respond, at least not for now, to President Uhuru Kenyatta’s statement, where he (Uhuru) said that he “will teach Joho a lesson”.

“We do not want to take the Uhuru-Joho standoff further than that. For now, we want the matter to rest up. Hatutaki kujibizana na Rais. However, the Governor will be responding to the President’s statement on political forums. He will be in Taita Taveta soon; maybe he will address the President’s remarks during that function,” Richard Chacha told Citizen Digital on phone.

Governor Joho was on Monday barred from accessing Mtongwe, where President Kenyatta was presiding over the re-launching of Mtongwe ferry.

Governor Joho’s attempt to hold a parallel rally to President Kenyatta’s Jubilee Party rally at Tononoka Grounds in Mombasa was also extinguished by police by denying him a permit.