Persons living with disabilities (PWDs) in Isiolo have decried failure by political parties to nominate one of them to the county assembly and called for of review of the process which they have termed as irregular
Led by Mohammud Ibrahim Maalim, they claimed that names of their members who applied for consideration and were in the initial list had been deleted and replaced with those of cronies of local politicians.
A total of eight people have been nominated to the county assembly with United Democratic Movement (UDM) bagging four slots and Kanu and President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) each getting two seats.
The list has Wasarme Suku, Omar Enow, Rahma Abdikadir, Boncha Dekha, Jibril Bore, Mohamed Huka, Haji Letimalo and Kelvin Mbuthia.
“There is no way all the three parties would have failed to pick a PWD under the marginalised category. We feel not valued or needed. Who will represent us in the county assembly?” Mr Maalim, who had applied for consideration by the Narc Kenya party, asked.
Stop swearing-in
Addressing journalists in Isiolo town, the group threatened to move to court to stop the swearing-in of the eight nominated MCAs and compel the respective parties to review the process and ensure it meets constitutional requirements.
“The swearing-in of the elected MCAs can go on as planned but that of the nominated ones should be halted until the injustices are dealt with,” said Mr Abdi Wako, the acting chair of the county’s PWDs.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has maintained that the list of political parties’ nominees was final and could not be changed unless through a court order.
Gender activist Valentine Nyaguthii decried a mix-up in the marginalised people’s list that has Mr Mbuthia, Mr Huka and Mr Letimalo under the female category, saying it will affect women representation in the House.
“This could be a scheme to have more men into the Assembly while we all know that women deserve the majority of the nominated MCA posts as only one of us was elected MCA in the entire county,” Ms Nyaguthii said.
Short-changed
Earlier in the week, some of the applicants for the nominations among them Fatuma Abdullahi and Amina Tunu Dabaso of UDA claimed to have been short-changed with Fatuma’s supporters saying her name that was allegedly in the top of a pervious list had been replaced with that of Mr Mbuthia.
Some UDA supporters protested what they termed as a skewed process and took issue with the nomination of Mr Mbuthia, who is former Laikipia woman representative Cate Waruguru’s relative, terming him a “foreigner”.
“This is an insult to Isiolo people. Don’t we have people in Isiolo who would have represented us in this category?” asked Mr Mohammed Ayub.
Comfortable with party’s list
But another group of UDA members and supporters, during a press briefing outside the party offices in Isiolo town, rubbished the protesting faction as attention seekers, saying they were comfortable with the party’s list of nominees.
Led by Nura Hassan and Borana Council of Elders Vice-Chairman Adan Galma, they maintained that they will offer full support to Mr Mbuthia and Ms Dekha, who have been nominated by the party, to enable them discharge their mandate in the county assembly.
“We have Isiolo residents nominated in other counties such as Mandera and Garissa. Nomination is based on one’s capability and experience and we commit to support those picked by the party,” Mr Hassan said.
Those aggrieved, he said, should complain to the party and not tarnish the outfit’s name.
“We trust our party leader’s wisdom and will offer support to those he has picked to work for us in the assembly. We want someone who will serve our people,” Mr Galma said.
A section of UDA members and supporters address journalists outside the party offices in Isiolo town on September 17, 2022. They defended the nomination of former Laikipia Woman Rep Cate Waruguru’s brother Kelvin Mbuthia to the county assembly.
Politicking time over
Mr Boniface Mwirigi, a youth leader, called for a ceasefire, saying politicking time was over and that residents should allow those elected and nominated to serve them.
“What matters most is development and improved services. Furthermore, law allows every Kenyan the right to work and live in any part of the country,” Mr Mwirigi said while defending Mr Mbuthia’s nomination.
There has been mixed feelings on whether parties should nominate people outside their counties with some saying it would promote cohesion while others insist it is disenfranchising deserving groups. BY DAILY NATION