New Wajir governor Ahmed Ali Muktar: The stone that builders rejected

He presented his gubernatorial candidature to his clan elders to contest for the seat in 2017 but was rejected.

The young man did not give up, so he settled for the lesser position, Wajir South parliamentary seat, and presented himself to the elders.

But they still rejected him and instead endorsed Mr Mohamed Shiek Omar.

Now, like the Biblical stone that the builders rejected, Mr Ahmed Ali Muktar, who was sworn in as third Wajir governor on Tuesday, has become the cornerstone.

Mr Muktar, 39, is reported to have a Master’s in policy and Public Administration from Strathmore University. He also holds a degree in in computer science from same university.

According to locals, Mr Muktar contested Wajir South parliamentary seat four times unsuccessfully, while the road to governorship has been punctuated with twists, turns and suspense.

Disgruntled with the elders’ decision in 2017, Mr Muktar joined the political wing of Mr Mohamed Abdi, the impeached governor, which was a formation of two clans residing in Wajir and running on Jubilee Party ticket.

The impeached governor is from the Degodia clan that had entered into a political marriage with the Ajuran clan.

Coming from the Ogaden clan, the Degodia and Ajuran clan political brokers saw him as an asset in dividing the larger Ogaden clan vote which he did.

He was picked as Mr Abdi’s running mate and together they won the seat in 2017.

Mr Muktar’s entry into the impeached governor’s wing saw the outfit controversially win against the Orange Democratic Movement candidate Ahmed Abdullahi who was seeking re-election.

Since taking office, Mr Muktar has sought to resign twice due to alleged frustration by his boss but clan elders are said to intervened in both cases.

Now being in offices will mean Mr Muktar convinces elders from all clans that he can lead for him to be considered for 2022 race.

When he took instruments of power to steer Wajir County in the remaining months on Tuesday, Mr Muktar pledged to work on improving the ailing health sector, basic education and provide clean and sufficient water.

Speaking at the county headquarters moments after taking the oath of office, a ceremony presided over by Justice Said Chitembwe, Mr Muktar promised to prioritise health, education and water sectors.

Yesterday, the new governor and County Secretary Abdullahi Hassan met with Department of Health staff led by CEC Hussein Sugow and chief officers Adan Enow for public health and Mohamud Sokor for medical services to discuss critical concerns within the department.

The governor stated that he would quickly put in place measures to address issues raised by the staff to restore health services.

Health workers in Wajir have been on strike for the past two weeks, accusing the county executive of doing little to address their grievances, including promotions and poor working conditions.

The job boycott has forced closure of Wajir County Referral Hospital and other health facilities across the county, including Habaswein and Griftu sub county hospitals.

During the impeachment of Mr Abdi, Wajir County Assembly accused him of running down the healthcare in the devolved unit.

Habaswein Ward MCA Abdirahman Dahir told the Senate Committee that handled the ouster that money allocated for the fight against Covid-19 pandemic was misappropriated, exposing the locals to coronavirus.

The committee chaired by Nyamira Senator Okong’o Omogen found that the impeached governor failed to offer the people of his county the best healthcare and recommended that he be removed from office.

The allegations stated that a county employee died at the Wajir County Referral Hospital for lack of oxygen.

Wajir has no oxygen plant and it gets supply from Elwak Sub County Hospital in Mandera County.

The governor, in his defence, said his administration had built 50 new health facilities and acquired a powerful generator to run an oxygen plant at the county referral hospital.