Garissa clan elders pick candidate to unseat Duale

The race for the Garissa Township parliamentary seat has started two years before the 2022 general election, with the influential Aulihan elders on Wednesday endorsing Nasir Dolal as its candidate.

Dolal, also known as Jofle, vied for the seat on an ODM ticket in 2013 but lost narrowly to former Majority leader in the National Assembly Aden Duale.

Duale, the incumbent, won on a William Ruto-led United Republican Party ticket.

The Aulihan community comprises nine sub-clans. Clan elders in Northeastern have a lot of political clout and their choice of candidate usually carries the day in  elections.

The Garissa Township seat has always attracted political heavy weights. In 2017, Duale, who has yet to declare whether he will defend the seat, faced it off with former National Assembly Deputy Speaker Farah Maalim, defeating him with a margin of 9,000 votes.

Maalim was vying on a Wiper ticket while Duale was the Jubilee candidate. The Nasa coalition prevailed upon Dolal not to be in the race in favour of Maalim, its candidate.

On Wednesday, the elders, led by Rashid Garane, said they had made their choice known early to have adequate time to popularise him.

“We know that we have some two years to the election, but all we are doing is preparing the ground early.  We don’t want to rush at the last minute and front a weak candidate,” Garane said.

Ibrahim Dubow, another elder, said Dolal had been tried and tested on the political arena and that he already commands a lot of support from communities resident in Garissa town.

“Garissa Township is a cosmopolitan constituency and requires a very sober person as the leader. In Dolal we have a candidate who can unite all communities. As a community, we will stick with him until the end,” Dubow said.

Dolal thanked the elders for endorsing him.

The elders also pledged their support for President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga in their quest to unite the country through the Building Bridges Initiative.

They expected to reap big from the final BBI report and called for its urgent release. The clansmen settled on Dolal as their BBI point man.

The elders said the BBI would address joblessness among youths and stop them from joining terror groups like al Shabaab.

- mwaniki fm