Garissa Senator Abdul Mohamed Haji has urged communities in the region to unite for a common cause ahead of the coming General Election to ensure that their interests were taken seriously.
He said politics was about numbers and their unity was critical in pushing the development agenda to the national table where decision making was made to ensure. This, he added would ensure the local communities are not left out when the national cake is being shared.
Haji who is vying for Garissa gubernatorial seat during the 2027 polls made the remarks after his local clan elders gave him their blessings to contest for the race in a region largely dominated by clan politics.
“Every conversation adds perspective, and engagement strengthens understanding, and every handshake carries with it the responsibility to keep moving forward together to ensure Garissa County residents live in harmony,” he said.
Haji said engagements with various clans was another opportunity to reflect and shape the political future of the community to ensure that the consensus that was built aligned with the aspirations of the local communities.
He said he was compelled to reach out to the Auliyan sub clan and held talks with the Sonqaat family of the larger Cowliyahan community led by Ugas Bishar Dawiye Hujale after he was initially endorsed by his Samawathal Clan.
The Senator said the talks comes in the backdrop of the 2022 pre-election deal with the Auliyan clan that settled on Governor Nathif Jama’s election in a county where clan elders had the final say on democratic processes.
The three major sub clan in Garissa County including the Auliyan, Abdwaq and Samawathal communities have in successive polls settled on a single candidate on rotational basis. Haji intends to vie on an UDA party ticket.
The meeting that was held in Garissa town was also attended by the Sultanate of the Auliyan community led by Sultan Hamud Sheikh, Daadab legislator Farah Maalim and Lagdera MP Abdikarin Zeitun among others
By Mohamed Dahir
