Sonko threatens to support UDA's Hassan Omar in Mombasa Governor race

Former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko now says he will back UDA candidate Hassan Omar in the race for Mombasa County Governor seat if his running mate, Kisauni MP Ali Mbogo, is not cleared to participate in the contest.  

According to Sonko, he would rather ditch Kalonzo Musyoka's Wiper party, which is under the larger Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Alliance umbrella and support Omar rather than back ODM candidate Abdulswamad Nassir who he says is a 'State project'.

Prior to having his name removed from the ballot, Sonko had handpicked Mbogo to be his running mate.

"I was cleared alongside my Deputy Governor Ali Mbogo. The impeachment was for Sonko not for Mbogo. We are pleading with IEBC and the government to clear Ali Mbogo to vie as governor," said Sonko in an interview on TV47 on Thursday.

"If they fail we are not going to support a puppet we will support Hassan Omar and UDA instead of supporting a puppet and a project."

Sonko's sentiments followed the High Court's Thursday decision to throw out a petition he filed that sought to compel IEBC to include his name among the list of candidates who will contest for Mombasa County's top seat next month.

Sonko had filed the petition on grounds that he still has an active appeal case, pertaining to his 2020 impeachment, at the East Africa Court of Justice but the three-judge High Court bench upheld a Supreme Court ruling that found his ouster from office to be constitutional.

Before he decided to file his petition before the East Africa court, Sonko's nomination certificate was revoked by IEBC, on grounds that he was legally impeached from office in a move that effectively barred him from running for the Mombasa Governor seat.

According to the IEBC, a person may be disqualified from running for office if they are found guilty of abuse of office or have violated Chapter Six of the Kenyan law.