The contest on who becomes Wajir Governor in 2022 has intensified after an aspirant vowed to defy the elders' verdict.
Ugas Sheikh Mohamed has dismissed as unfair the Sunday Fai Sultanate process which disregarded the 2017 deal and settled on another candidate, Hassan Wahliye, as the sole candidate for the Wajir seat.
Sheikh Mohamed vowed to disregard the Sunday endorsement and continue with his campaigns for the county’s top seat.
“In the circumstance, and in view of the foregoing grievances and after extensively consulting with my supporters, I made a firm decision to proceed with my campaigns with a view to capturing the seat of the governor of Wajir County in the forthcoming 2022 General Elections,” he said.
He said the method used to pick the candidate was manipulated to serve some vested interests within the county.
“The criteria used to pick the candidate are unknown. This corrupt and illegitimate process cannot yield legitimate outcomes that are of value to Wajir people,” he said.
“I genuinely believe that this gross injustice denies the people of Wajir County the leadership they deserve and can only be addressed and corrected through popular democracy and the ballot.”
FINAL SAY
Fai community is the dominant community in Wajir county and holds sway on who wins the big positions.
The community usually has the final say on who ascends to which political seat in the region.
In the last elections, Sheikh Mohamed was endorsed by the Sultanate before it was withdrawn after five months without any reason.
Mohamed then supported Mohamed Abdi who won the race.
“I reluctantly agreed then and stepped down in favour of the former Governor, Mohamed Abdi on the understanding and promise that I shall be the sole gubernatorial candidate from the family in the 2022 General Elections,” Mohamed said in a statement.
“The agreement of 2017 was deliberately and shamelessly disowned by the Sultanate in this process despite our several requests that they put the terms of the said agreement into consideration in determining the community’s gubernatorial candidate.”
According to Sheikh Mohamed, the Sunday endorsement was a sham exercise claiming money exchanged hands before Wahliye was endorsed.
“The Fai Sultanate process that culminated to yesterday’s sham verdict lacked integrity from the beginning. In the past few days, I was credibly aware that money was exchanging hands and the verdict confirmed the information in the public domain prior to the verdict,” he said.
He added: “I am aware that some Ugases were promised both monetary and nonmonetary rewards for picking the candidate in total disregard of the ethical standards required of them.”
Edited by D Tarus
