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NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The governor of Kenya's second largest city says paramilitary police surrounded his home and office on Monday to prevent him from attending a presidential event and answering accusations of corruption.
President Uhuru Kenyatta on Sunday at a campaign rally suggested that Mombasa Gov. Ali Hassan Joho has misappropriated millions of dollars, saying he should explain how he had used $389 million allocated over four years.
Joho, who says Mombasa county was allocated $166 million instead, tried to respond Monday by attending a Kenyatta event. He said he managed to sneak out of his house in his brother's car but was stopped at a roadblock by officers who said the president ordered that he be prevented from going.
"For some reason they felt they need to deny us the opportunity to respond to their falsehoods and lies," Joho said.
At the event, Kenyatta replied: "He should not play with us. If he does, we will straighten him out."
Kenyatta has been trying to win the support of people along the country's coast, an opposition stronghold, ahead of the August presidential elections. Mombasa anchors the region. Joho is not a candidate in the election.
Kenyatta and Joho have clashed in the past about projects the president has launched in the region.
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