Shame of Mandera politicians with no known homes in the county

Mandera County residents are a worried lot as politicians continue criss-crossing the county seeking to be elected for different positions in the August 9 elections.

They say most of the politicians seeking seats are sons and daughters of Mandera who left the county long ago and have set their base in Nairobi and other places.

They say it is difficult to reach the politicians after they are elected.

“We have always elected people who do not know the daily suffering of residents of Mandera and this is because of our clan-based politics,” Mr Adan Shukri said.

Mr Shukri said that unlike in most counties where politicians could easily be found or traced at their homes, things are different in Mandera.

“We have to make phone calls to our political leaders in Nairobi, Nakuru and Mombasa whenever we need an issue solved locally,” he said.

Among the five candidates for the governor’s seat in Mandera, only one has a fixed abode in the county.

Mr Mohamed Adan Khalif, the United Democratic Movement (UDM) candidate and Speaker of the county assembly, has a home in Mandera town but he rarely stays there.

He recently converted the workshop of a construction company associated with him into a campaign centre.

Mr Adan Abdulla Mohamed, a former Cabinet Secretary and the Jubilee Party candidate, operates from a hotel whenever he is in Mandera.

“Mr Mohamed has a hotel and that is where he stays when he comes to Mandera. We don’t know his home though he was born and brought up in Kotulo, Mandera South,” Mr Ali Mohamed said.

The hotel associated with Mr Mohamed was hurriedly built earlier this year and is his campaign centre.

Mr Hassan Noor Hassan, a former Education chief administrative secretary, also resides at a hotel in the town.

Mr Hassan is the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) candidate and unconfirmed reports showed he has homes in Nakuru and Nairobi.

“All over the country you will find people visiting politicians at their homes for one issue or the other but for Mandera, one has to travel to Nairobi to meet a politician,” lamented Ms Halima Gurey.

Just like the other two governor candidates, Mr Noor Ali Aden of United Democratic Alliance (UDA) also operates from a hotel.

“All these politicians are ‘foreigners’. They are only looking for our votes and then return to their families in the city, leaving us with our problems in Mandera,” Ms Gurey said.

Only Governor Ali Roba and Mandera East MP Omar Maalim have known residences in the county.

After being elected in 2013, Governor Roba operated from the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) offices before renting a local hotel that was converted into his office.

The governor used to spend nights at the NDMA guest house whenever he was in the county.

In 10 years, Mr Roba has built two magnificent homes in Mandera town for his two wives but he plans to convert them into hotels once he leaves office.

Mr Roba is eyeing the Mandera senator seat under his UDM party.

Mr Maalim, the Mandera East MP, has also put up a multimillion-shilling building on the outskirts of the town and just like Governor Roba plans to convert it into a hotel.

The Mandera County governor’s residence, built during Mr Roba’s tenure, will make life easier for the next governor, who will not have to operate from a hotel or build a private home.

“It remains to be known if the next governor will occupy the official residence, because the current governor has not used it,” said Mr Abdi Alio, a resident.

The official governor’s residence in Mandera has been under construction since 2014, raising eyebrows because of its cost.

“We need to have our politicians live within so that it becomes easy to reach them when the need arises. Staying in Nairobi means nothing to me as a voter,” Mr Alio said.

It is common for politicians from Mandera to charter a plane from Nairobi and fly to the county whenever there is an issue that needs their attention and return to the city on the same day.

“We stay with our politicians longer when they are campaigning than after they have won the elections. It is never that easy to see a politician in Mandera once he is elected,” Ms Halima Issack said.

Of the seven Senate candidates, six have no known homes in Mandera.

Only Mr Roba has a home in the county.

Mr Mohamed Maalim Mohamud, the current senator who is seeking to defend his seat as an independent candidate, has no known home.

He stays at a hotel every time he visits Mandera and records at his office in the county show he was there only once in five years.

“Politicians with no homes in Mandera are staying with relatives or friends but immediately after the elections they will be nowhere to be seen. We need people we can interact with on a daily basis so that our problems can be solved,” Ms Issack said.

Most ward representatives also prefer staying in hotels when they are in session and return to Nairobi during a recess.

“Our MCAs will never attend all sittings. There are those who make technical appearances and excuse themselves to return to Nairobi for private businesses,” Mr Hussein Siyad said.