Garissa non-natives hatch strategy to rally members to enlist

The non-native community in Garissa met on Thursday to strategise on how to rally their own to register as voters.

Last week, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission announced the second phase of the enhanced continuous voter registration which began on January 17 and ends on February 6, 2022.

Garissa Township constituency has a sizeable number of non-natives who have always been used as a swing vote.

Virtually all communities in Kenya reside in the town.

Speaking to the press, their chairman Alex Njeru said in past elections, non-natives have not been exercising their democratic right but this year they want to change that.

“In past elections we have not been participating fully in electing the kind of leaders we want. Most of the time we leave it to the natives forgetting that this is also our home," he said.

He added: “This time our numbers must count. For that to happen we must all of us register as voters”.

Jane Nyamwadha who was elected the vice chair person regretted how leaders usually take them for a ride during elections with promises they never fulfill once elected.

“Politicians have always taken advantage of  our division to use and dump us but with our new found unity we will speak with one voice,” she said.

David Mutea the organising secretary said they will use churches and door to door strategy to reach out to non locals.

Njeru said that they will put aside all their tribal and political differences to rally non-natives to register and elect credible leaders in the august polls.

On Wednesday, Garissa county election manager Hussein Gurre appealed to the area leadership to assist the electoral body in mobilising eligible voters to register before the deadline.

Gurre said that Garissa county came in second with 50 percent to Turkana that recorded over 63 percent. Countrywide over 5.2 million eligible Kenyans enrolled as new voters.

He however regretted voter apathy among the youth who claim that they see no benefit in voting.

Last week Garissa Township MP Aden Duale made a clarion call to residents to use the second window of voter registration to enlist.