• Isaack Ahmed, who has been the assistant chief of Korakora for 11 months, was this week promoted in a circular from the Interior ministry.
• But residents said the administrator is not from the area and so he will not serve them well.
Residents of Korokora in Garissa subcounty on Thursday took to the streets to protest against the promotion of an assistant chief to a chief, claiming he is an 'outsider'.
Isaack Ahmed, who has been the assistant chief of Korakora for 11 months, was this week promoted in a circular from the Interior ministry.
But residents said the administrator is not from the area and so he will not serve them well.
Speaking to the press after the protests, the residents led by elder Abdullahi Abdi said they will continue to protest until the appointment is revoked.
Abdi said they had stayed without a chief for close to two years after the former retired.
“We are here to show our displeasure against the move by the government. Residents who applied for the position were left out,” he said.
Mohamed Ali, another resident, said all they want is to have an administrator who is a local.
“We are asking the government to revoke his appointment. We want to have a local whom we can work with,” he said.
Hawa Ahmed said they will not allow the chief to step into his new office.
Area county commissioner Meru Mwangi told journalists that residents complaints are being addressed.
“All I can say is that I have received the residents' complaints and will look into them," he said.
Mwangi urged residents to remain calm and leave the matter to the government to address it.
Last month, Hulugho and Masalani MCAs accused some influential personalities of being behind a push to have recent appointments of chiefs and their assistants nullified for their own interests.
Edited by A.N