President Uhuru Kenyatta has ended his tour of the Coast, despite wanting to say longer, to end speculation.
For the past two weeks, Uhuru has operated from Mombasa and met Governor Hassan Joho three times. The President and Joho, who is ODM deputy leader, agreed to build each other’s legacies.
Uhuru ended the visit on Tuesday after opening the 10th African Confederation of Principals Conference at Pride Inn Paradise Hotel.
“I would have loved to stay longer and listen to a few presentations but I have to go back to Nairobi,” he said. “I have been in Mombasa for two weeks and there has been too much speculation on why I am here, so wacha nirudi Nairobi ndio wawache mambo ya (so let me go back to Nairobi so they can stop the) speculation.”
Besides conversations about Uhuru’s meetings with Joho, there were claims that he would reshuffle his cabinet while in Mombasa but this was not the case.
State House Spokesperson Kanze Dena dismissed these reports, telling journalists she was not aware of such plans.
“The Head of State wants to meet locals at the grassroots and key people involved in the projects, who are the contractors. The visits are not for politics,” she said during a briefing on Monday.
The speculation came after Uhuru quietly retreated to the coast on July 22 and held meetings with opposition leader Raila Odinga, the team spearheading the Building Bridges Initiative, Joho and select members of the cabinet.