Mandera Senator Mohamud now eyes governor’s seat

Mandera Senator Mohamed Maalim Mohamud has appealed for free and fair nominations in the Jubilee Party.

He made the appeal while launching his gubernatorial bid, at the same time insisting that he is in the ruling party to stay. He dismissed as rumours claims by his competitors that his heart is elsewhere.

“I am in the Jubilee Party and so many other candidates are garnering for this ticket. I am asking the party leadership to ensure they conduct free and fair party nominations,” he said.

He asked the party elections board to ensure the Jubilee ticket is given to candidates capable of winning elections and delivering victory for Azimio la Umoja presidential candidate Raila Odinga.

“We are aware of some people spreading rumours that they are the preferred candidate and that they already have the ticket. Let us go for party nominations for the best to get the ticket,” he said.

No party candidate yet

By Friday evening, Mr Adan Mohamed had claimed he had bagged the Jubilee ticket but Mr Mohamud dismissed the claims.

“None of the Jubilee candidates across the country has the ticket. We shall all go for primaries and thereafter we can know who has the ticket,” the senator said.

Mr Mohamud is competing for the Jubilee ticket together with Mr Mohamed, a former Cabinet secretary, and Mr Faisal Abdirahman Abass, a businessman.

In his campaign manifesto, Senator Mohamud highlighted seven pillars that he intends to ride on and convince the residents of Mandera to vote for him and not the other candidates.  

He said if elected, his administration will focus on empowerment of youth, women, persons with disabilities and the poor.

“We shall be initiating a youth empowerment programme in Mandera and I will ensure allocation of specific projects/contracts for youth, women, and people with disabilities through the 30 per cent access to government procurement opportunities (AGPO),” he said.

Entrepreneurship training

If elected, the senator said he will focus on training young people for micro, small and medium enterprises in entrepreneurship and management to equip them with the skills to manage their own businesses

To improve the ailing health sector, Mr Mohamud said he will enhance health delivery services across Mandera County.

“I will enhance and maintain the existing health infrastructures and ensure constant supply of drugs and other medical supplies in our county,” he said.

He pledged to motivate health workers by improving their working conditions and investing more in capacity development of medical staff.

To deal with water shortage in Mandera, the senator said his administration will protect available resources and build reservoirs to harvest water from seasonal rivers such as Lagsure and Lag Warera.

“We have the capacity to construct life-changing dams in water-stressed areas and drilling more boreholes across the county including rehabilitation of shallow wells and desilting of existing dams,” he said.

In the education sector, Mr Mohamud promised to conduct annual education week for experts to debunk the challenges facing schools and provide solutions.

“We shall construct more ECDE classes to enhance access to education and focus on enhancing the capacities of ECDE teachers,” he said.

Each technical and vocational Institution in Mandera will be equipped with the necessary state-of-the-art equipment and tools that will harness the skills of out-of-school youth if Mr Mohamud is elected the governor.

Modern animal husbandry techniques will be employed to improve livestock production in Mandera.

Peace in Mandera

Senator Mohamud promised to work with all national government institutions and other stakeholders to ensure peace prevails in the county

“We shall invest in peace dialogue and reconciliation processes to enhance cohesion and integration of communities in Mandera,” he said.

Mr Mohamud was elected as senator in 2017 after serving as Mandera West MP for ten years.

Between 2008 and 2011, he served as an assistant minister for Energy after serving as a permanent secretary in the Ministry of Roads and Public Works between 2005 and 2007 and Ministry of Regional Development (2003-2005).

He served as Kenya’s ambassador to Egypt between 1997 and 2003 with credentials to Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Eritrea.

He holds a master’s degree in environment health engineering from the University of Nairobi. He has a degree in civil engineering from the same university.

He unveiled his team that includes Mr Mohamed Qaras as his running mate and Ms Uba Gedi as the aspirant for county woman representative’s seat.