Garissa governor swearing-in plans complete

Preparations for Garissa Governor-elect Nathif Jama and his deputy Abdi Dagane's swearing- in are complete.

The ceremony will be held at the Garissa Primary School grounds on Thursday.

Chairman of the office of governor assumption committee Abdi Ali said the committee is satisfied with the preparations and everything will be ready by end of day.

He spoke on Wednesday during a press briefing at the venue, after inspecting the ongoing preparations.

“We expect a lot of dignitaries including elected leaders, representatives from the council of governors, ambassadors especially from the United Arab Emirates, the Middle East and our neighbours.

“As a county government, we want the ceremony to be successful and everything to be in place,” Ali said.

Garissa Township deputy county commissioner Solomon Chesut said security has been beefed up for the last three days.

He said residents should come out and celebrate the new leadership without fear.

“I want to assure members of the public that security has been beefed up and everything is in place. We have secured the grounds and we wish to welcome all invited dignitaries for the swearing-in ceremony,” Chesut said.

The commissioner further urged all elected leaders in the county to join hands and work together with those who lost in the just concluded election, for the benefit of the people of Garissa.

Jama, who won against incumbent Ali Korane, has hit the ground running, restoring some of the services that had been interrupted.

On Monday, he restored water supply to Garissa town, which had been cut for nearly four months.

The Kenya Power and Lighting Company had disconnected the GAWASCO intake plant due to accrued power bills.

The governor-elect also held meetings with KEMSA officials to fully equip the Garissa Referral Hospital with drugs, which have been missing over the last few months.

(Edited by Bilha Makokha)