Ex-Marsabit governor Ali gets elders nod to take on old foe Yatani
By Oliver Musembi, January 25, 2022Rivalry between Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani and Marsabit Governor Ali Muhamud is expected to be renewed this year after the Borana Council of Elders endorsed the latter in the forthcoming August polls.
Ali got a shot in the arm after Borana Council of Elders (BCE) endorsed him to recapture his seat in the upcoming August polls. The more than 100 elders and professionals drawn from Saku, Sololo, Moyale, Marsabit, Isiolo and Tana River boosted Ali’s candidature after they gave him the go ahead to defend his seat following a week of deliberations.
Ali will battle it out with four others among them Yatani, Gedhia Mamo, who served as Marsabit County Tourism Chief Officer in the first regime and John Lotto.
Though Yatani who is associated with Upya Party under the Azimio la Umoja Coalition has not yet officially declared his intention to recapture the seat he held between 2013 and 2017, speculation is rife on the ground that he would soon resign from his Cabinet portfolio to vie for the governorship.
In a region where the council of elders makes political decisions, Ali’s coronation means that members of Borana community will recognise him as their lead aspirant with a mandate of approaching other ethnic communities to form a formidable alliance that ensures his bid will be successful.
According to chairman Galm Dabaso, three other leaders from the Borana community, a tribe boasting of the majority population in the county, home to 13 other tribes, had expressed interest in the same position but failed to take part in the deliberations.
Debaso said they urged the three to shelve their ambitions for the sake of unity.
“After a full week of deliberations, we have made this resolution, which will drive the agenda of unity in our region. We have been in engagement with politicians, opinion leaders and professionals and we incorporated all their input before we arrived at this decision,” said Debaso.
The elders lauded the governor for his policy of inclusion and proportional distribution of appointments and projects across the four sub counties, adding that they are resolute to help in the actualisation of the governor’s quest for a second term.