Accept elders’ list of leaders, says MP Duale
Since time immemorial, elders have been endorsing leaders, the legislator says
The Abudwak clan has relied on elders’ endorsement of leaders since time immemorial and opponents should accept their verdict, Garissa Town MP Aden Duale has said.
The National Assembly majority leader told the Star the nominations were above board, even as opponents cried foul. “I am appealing to my opponents to accept the verdict of the elders, which they understand and know is binding,” Duale said.
He said the nominees, who will all run on Jubilee Party tickets, will win.
Balambala MP hopeful Abdi Shurie thanked the elders for having faith in him. “I will soon be launching my campaigns for the seat. I call for unity from all the subclans that form the larger Abudwak clan,” he said.
But speaking separately, Lamu county secretary Siyat Osman and Abdi Yare, who want to run for Garissa Town MP, said Duale’s endorsement is “biased and discriminatory”.
Osman said the endorsement was a hoax and “an exercise in futility”. “I resolve to mount a fierce campaign while cognisant of the fact that the will of the people will prevail,” he said.
Yare said the endorsements will divide the community. “It seems like our unity is dented; hope for justice, fairness and equal opportunity has been shattered. I was not part of the decision and I remain firmly in the race,” he said on his Facebook account.
On Wednesday, Balambala MP Abdikadir Aden said the proposed lineup is inconsequential, as it is a Jubilee line-up. “The same people calling themselves clan elders opposed me in 2013,” he said.
Garissa Town MP Aden Duale speaks at Bula Argi last month during the endorsement of Ali Korane as the Abudwak’s sole candidate for governor
