Villagers in Garissa county’s Abalatiro location have protested the recruitment of a chief they claimed does not come from the area.
Addressing the press on Tuesday, they asked the government to revoke the recent appointment and re-advertise the position, saying it will give local youth an opportunity.
Osman Aden Salat was promoted to chief. His initial recruitment is disputed as he has an ongoing case against former Ijara deputy county commissioner Julius Too, who was charged with irregular employment of the administrator.
Resident Idriss Ahmed said the position is highly regarded in village level urging the government to tread with caution.
“The chief comes from Bothai, 150km away from the location, communities living in the area cannot work with him because he is a stranger,” he said.
He said the community has lodged complaints to local government representatives, including county and regional commissioners.
Led by local elders, the residents said a chief is involved in serious government operations, including security, and an ‘outsider’ might not help in solving some of these issues.
Rahma Yussuf questioned the promotion of the official despite an ongoing court case on the same matter.
“There are so many people from the locality who deserve the position,” she said.
Political leaders have in most cases come under sharp scrutiny over their involvement in the process of recruitment of local administrators.
On Sunday, two MCAs from Hulugho and Masalani accused some influential personalities of having a hand in recent appointments.
Addressing the press in Garissa town, Abubakar Shide (Masalani) and Adow Omar (Hulugho) said they were aware that some politicians were ‘moving from one office to the other in the Ministry of Interior to influence the appointments to suit their personal interests'.
They said they will resist changes in the appointments which were approved by regional commissioner Nicodemus Ndalana.
Edited by R.Wamochie
