Raila rises to calm ugly standoff at Azimio rally
Supporters of Wajir Governor Ahmed Ali Muktar and his rivals clashed yesterday during an Azimio rally in Wajir town.
Trouble began when Suna East MP Junet Mohamed took to the stage to invite candidates for the governor seat to address the rally. Muktar is seeking to defend his seat against fierce opposition from former Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi, who is seeking a comeback on an ODM ticket.
Others in the race are incumbent Senator Abdullahi Ali (UDM), Ugas Mohamed Sheikh (PNU) as well as Hessian Mohamed and Mohamed Elmi, who will be squaring it out for the Jubilee ticket.
Donned in their respective party colours, the opposing camps, waving placards, started charging at each other.
The ensuing standoff lasted about five minutes before ODM leader Raila Odinga stepped in to calm the tension.
“All of us are in Azimio La Umoja, whose goal is to bring Kenyans together. And as you are aware, we have ODM, Jubilee, Upya, Kanu, and many others. I am here as the presidential candidate of Azimio La Umoja. As residents of Wajir county, come August 9, you will vote for a candidate of your choice,” said Raila.
“We have many candidates here who want to be governors, senators, Woman Reps, MPs and MCAs. We want all of them to be elected on Azimio La Umoja ticket so that Wajir county is painted Azimio zone,” he added, saying their perceived local differences would give an advantage to their Kenya Kwanza Alliance opponents.
Raila pledged to roll out an ambitious economic and social policy that he hopes will ease the economic burden and uplift the lives of northern Kenya.
He promised to address perennial water problems and hunger, as well as improve the road network in the region and connect the county to the national grid. He said he would prioritise insecurity issues that have dogged the area, leading to shutdown of schools after non-locals fled the region.
He also vowed to improve housing and create job opportunities by building industries. “I want to announce that my team has a solution to all these problems. Wajir is a fast-growing town but it is not connected to the national electricity grid. If elected, we will connect it and it will be available at an affordable price,” said Raila.
With enough supply of electricity, Raila said, his government would build industries that would enable youth and women to get job opportunities. He also promised to implement free nursery, primary, secondary, tertiary, and university education, saying all children should get the same opportunities to achieve their dreams.
Raila was accompanied by, among others, governors Ali Korane (Garissa), Wycliffe Oparanya (Kakamega), Cotu Secretary General Francis Atwoli, CAS Rachel Shebesh and Peter Kenneth,
Odinga’s allies took a swipe at Deputy President William Ruto and his Kenya Kwanza Alliance over alleged rigging claims, saying they had sensed defeat in the August 9 polls. They also dismissed Ruto’s plans to establish a parallel tallying centre, terming it a recipe for chaos.
“In 2017, you (Ruto) orchestrated a rigging scheme in northern Kenya and denied us (the opposition) victory, especially here in Wajir county. Now that you are out of government systems, you assume the same ill-habits will be deployed against you. The numbers are in favour of Baba,” said Abdullahi, who is seeking to recapture the Wajir governor seat.
“He (Ruto) and his team should stop being crybabies and instead embrace life in opposition since he does not have both the people and the ‘system’ on his side,” added the ex-Wajir county.
