We will work together, say Balala and Joho

Mufti Menk speaking at Sheikh Zayed Primary School in Mombasa on Sunday where he shared a platform with tourism Cabinet secretary Najib Balala and Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho. ( Photo courtesy)

Friday Bulletin

Mombasa leaders have pledged that their political differences will not stand in their way in working together to foster development and progress in the county.

Speaking at Sheikh Zayed Primary School in Mombasa on Sunday where they shared a platform, Tourism Cabinet secretary Najib Balala and Mombasa Governor Hassan Ali Joho said it was imperative that they join hands and work together to spearhead development for the people of Mombasa.

“I am looking forward to work with my brother. Being on the other side should not be a reason to divide us,” said Balala when he spoke at the second session of the lecture tour of the visiting scholar from Zimbabwe Mufti Ismail Menk.

Echoing his comments, the governor affirmed that unity and a good working relationship will form the driving factor in their taking the county forward.

“He is on one side of the political divide while I am on the other side but at the end of the day we are all brothers,” Joho who is the point man for the NASA opposition coalition in the county said.

Balala is among the leading lights of the ruling Jubilee party in Mombasa. The governor who led the welcoming party for Mufti Menk in Mombasa hailed the scholar for his inspiring lecture which he said will transform his life.

“I will leave this place a changed person,” he told the audience. Balala on his part said the visit that came will help promote harmony and unity of purpose at a time when the country was deeply divided along political lines. “We need such seminars from Mufti Menk as there are relevant to our situation,” he said.

Mufti Menk’s talk in Mombasa on the topic “Respecting Differences” attracted a full house crowd at the Sheikh Zayed Primary School and was attended by area leaders who included Industrialization cabinet secretary Adan Muhammad, Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir and the Imam of Masjid Huda Sheikh Abu Hamza.

On arrival at the Vipingo Airstrip in Kilifi county, the Zimbabwean Mufti was driven in a police-led procession towards the venue of the event where the crowds patiently waited for his arrival.