Renowned investigative reporter and Member of Parliament for Nyali Constituency in Mombasa Mohammed Ali has fallen out with the ruling party UDA and said he will map his political future as an Independent.
The lawmaker has been quiet for close to nine months, seeming to sideline himself from activities of the ruling party.
Mohammed Ali has now broken his silence as rumours fly around regarding his future in the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Party. He alleges that the ruling party has turned a deaf ear to the suffering of the electorate and thus his continued relationship with the party is unconscionable.
Previously, he would be seen in tow with President William Ruto and even would be vocal in defence of the regime.
That has changed drastically.
Ali, who rose to fame with jicho-pevu an investigative television program that was outstanding in exposing corruption and social ills was seen as compromised when he stood for a second term on a UDA Party ticket. He however used his youthfulness, networking and other resources to retain his Nyali seat in 2022.
Without stating unequivocally whether he has left UDA Party, Ali said he will be vying in the 2027 Mombasa County gubernatorial race as an Independent candidate, adding that he successfully debuted in elective politics without any political party’s support.
“I have talked about a lot of things, including the extrajudicial killings, and I have said it should end. I have talked about corruption. I have also talked about the issue of Deputy Inspector General Eliud Lagat. I heard he is back in the office. He should go home; we are not going to allow him back. A young man died in a police station; he should be charged and jailed. Those have always been my positions. No one can control me. I came to Nyali without a party, and the people chose me. I came back with a party, UDA, and they chose me with an extra 10,000 votes, and now if I want to go forward, I will decide on which path, and I will walk with the people of Mombasa,” he said.
Ali also claimed that the government’s intransigence was like a time bomb and sooner or later the voices of the people will prevail.
“When the hour comes, it won’t be my voice alone; it will be the people’s roar they ignored for years. The ground beneath me is solid. I will always stand with the truth and by my people,” he told a presser.
Asked why he had been so silent for nine months Ali revealed he had been battling a health condition.
“I am on the side of God and the people of Nyali and Mombasa, and the truth. I have been quiet for the last nine months, and others thought that I had run away from politics; when you are sick, other things can wait. My health comes first. I underwent three knee surgeries and was not in a position to say what Kenyans wanted to hear from me,” he said.
Mombasa County is traditionally considered an enclave of the ODM Party and his sudden change of political ideology could be informed by the fact that he is a candidate in the gubernatorial race.
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