Mandera Governor trashes elders’ decision, says he will seek re-election

Mandera Governor Ali Roba has rejected a decision by the Garre Council of Elders that he should not seek re-election in next year’s polls.

The elders led by Chairman Maalim Ali Noor also resolved that Senator Billow Kerrow, woman representative Fathia Mahbub, five MPs and 18 Members of the County Assembly should also not run for another term.

This, according to the elders whose meeting started on August 6 and is to end on Friday is to allow rotation of elective positions among the 20 Garre community sub-clans.

In an interview with the Nation.co.ke on Tuesday, Mr Roba trashed the elders’ decision, insisting he will seek another term as the county’s boss with his own line-up of candidates for various seats.

Mr Roba who enjoyed the backing of the elders prior to the last polls said “what was discussed was the wish of the local council of elders and is not binding.”

“If some people want to abide by the decision, that is okay but as far as I am concerned I will run for governor in 2017 with my own line-up from governor to MCA in each of the 30 wards in the county,” Mr Roba said on phone.

He said the elders’ verdict could not work in the current Kenya’s political dispensation which calls for democracy and for the will of people to decide their leaders based on performance.

“It is my firm position that we have the will of the population…It is up to the population to decide by their votes whether or not any leader is going to be elected or re-elected.

“It is inconceivable in a democratic system similar to what we have in our country to expect undemocratic process where unilateral decisions are made to apply,” Mr Roba said.

The governor added: “I am here and I am here to stay. We applaud those who would like to abide by the decision of local council of elders.”

“I have been through hell and back in trying to institutionalise and operationalize the county government under the worst of all circumstances possible.”

He recalled tribal clashes that characterized first two years of devolution in the border county, terror attacks in government offices and “more than 200 times in the county over past two years.”

There were also serious attempts on the life of the about 42-year old county boss that led to the death of his security officer and a prominent elder who was the immediate former county council boss.

“The elder was close person to me,” Mr Roba said.

The governor said he worked hard to institutionalise devolution in Mandera which suffered 97 per cent understaffing despite having meagre resources.

FIRST TARMAC ROAD

His reign has also helped unite local communities.

His administration has built more than 1000 kilometres of all-weather roads where there was none “enabling even salon cars to operate.”

Mandera town is also enjoying new tarmac, the first in the region since independence.

Sixty new hospitals have been built in Mandera and old ones rehabilitated, and farming revived along River Daua, the only natural water source in the vast arid county and “ending drought emergency given new meaning.”

Mr Roba recalls that the last time the county suffered massive loss of livestock due to drought and disease was before devolution. Livestock is Mandera’s main economic mainstay with majority of locals being nomads.

Mr Roba also boasts of turning around education, ending the days when the county was the laughing stock by being last in national examinations.

“The county now has more than 1500 staff. I responded to needs of population in a timely manner. For the first time we have achieved harmonious peaceful co-existence of communities within the larger Mandera,” he said.

He added: “The population of Mandera knows where I stand for them. It is only that population that will determine my fate as governor through their democratic will.”

He termed the push by elders for a rotating leadership for other clans to get a chance “as most naïve reason that can be used by any person.”

“Any leader elected to develop a region is judged through assessment of performance or record of that leader. If the leader has addressed the needs of the population any other measure is bogus,” he said.

He said he does not understand of motive of elders insisting leaders should only serve for one term.