By Boniface Ongeri
The Standard
July 25, 2012

An elders meeting called to deliberate on who will vie for Garissa County Governor seat ended in a stalemate.

The 16-member team from the dominant Abudwak sub-clan of Ogaden at the weekend met to deliberate on who between Northern Water Service Board CEO Mohamed Shurie and former PS Ali Korane will be endorsed as the clan bearer for the coveted seat. Retired military Chief of General Staff Mohamoud Mohamed chaired the meeting at his Garissa residence.

Mohamed adjourned the meeting to a yet-to-be-set date.

Minutes of the meeting obtained by The Standard indicated the two candidates were represented by eight elders each.

The elders brainstormed on the candidates’ development record in their capacity as individuals and Government officers.

Endorsed to contest

Shurie was represented by Ali-Dere Hassan and Haji Muhumed among others. Those who represented Korane include Dolow Abdi and Sheikh Salat.

The minutes said although most of the elders preferred one of the two candidates to be endorsed to contest unopposed, they will convene another meeting after which they will make their final decision.

“Eleven out of 16 of us favoured one of the candidates. The retired general appeared to concur with our preference but we are still not sure why he ended the meeting inconclusively. He did not express his wish,” an elder who attended said.

Noting that they were out to ensure the people of Garissa get the best leaders, the team of elders said they met to deliberate for the future of the county and its residents and not to be compromised.

They said their aim was to get leadership that will effectively and fairly manage the affairs of the county with a proposed

Source: The Standard

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