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But all this is a façade. The truth is that Mombasa can be deadly to the naïve. There is a saying in the town that Mombasa iko na wenyewe which loosely translated it means that Mombasa has its’ owners.
Kenyans will remember the case of the policeman who was sent to investigate some missing containers at the port but was shot dead in circumstances that are yet to be explained. A few arrests were made but the case has now gone cold and will in all likelihood never be revived. That is Mombasa for you.
This is the kind of background that makes developments related to the port over the last few days very interesting indeed.
The coalition government has moved fast and in a well co-ordinated move both the Prime Minister and the president himself have issued statements concerning changes that that the government wants to see, including the reduction of roadblocks on the road leading from the port to Nairobi and beyond. The government has also given port authorities one week to transform operations so that cargo can be cleared 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Predictably this initiative has rubbed the powerful coastal town barons up the wrong way. MPs from Mombasa (obviously speaking on behalf of the “real owners” of Mombasa have come out both barrels firing. They have accused the PM of meddling in port affairs and have asked him to keep off and leave the responsibility to the minister of transport Ali Mwakwere.
Speaking during a harambee in Kaloleni District yesterday, four MPs accused Mr Odinga of undermining Mr Mwakwere and portraying him as a non-performer. The four MPs were Danson Mungatana (Garsen, Narc Kenya), Gideon Mung’aro (Malindi, ODM), Ali Hassan Joho (Kisauni, ODM) and Samuel Kazungu (Kaloleni, PNU). The fascinating thing here is that even ODM MPs are lashing out at their party boss.
Many Kenyans do not realize the real impact of rampant corruption and delayed cargo at the port has on the economy. Sadly the powerful cartels that control the port will not just pack their bags and go. In fact there are those who believe that to clean up the Mombasa port and uproot the cartels will take a full scale massive military-like operation like the one carried out in Colombia a number of years ago to deal with major drug barons.
There is no denying that the Prime Minister is a very brave man to have decided to take on the powerful Mombasa cartels some of whom supported his presidential campaign last December but bravery will certainly not be enough because these “stones are way too heavy to turn."
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