For a county deeply divided along clan lines, Ahmed Ali Mukhtar had little chances of making it in the race for the Wajir gubernatorial seat.
In fact, the 39-year-old politician tried it before the 2017 General Election but his Ogaden clan rejected his bid.
He settled for the Wajir South parliamentary seat, which he had sought previously but lost.
For a county deeply divided along clan lines, Ahmed Ali Mukhtar had little chances of making it in the race for the Wajir gubernatorial seat.
In fact, the 39-year-old politician tried it before the 2017 General Election but his Ogaden clan rejected his bid. He settled for the Wajir South parliamentary seat, which he had sought previously but lost.
As he prepared for the gruelling campaigns, the elders- who had endorsed Mohamed Abdi Mohamud, devised a scheme to defeat Ahmed Abdullahi, who was seeking a second term.
The elders endorsed Mr Mukhtar as Mr Mohamud’s deputy and it worked, the duo was elected albeit controversially.
Their first months in office was marred with tribulations as the former governor, Mr Abdullahi, challenged Mr Mohamud’s degree from Kampala University. The matter went all the way to the Supreme Court, after the High Court nullified Mr Mohamud’s election, a decision that was upheld by the Court of Appeal.
While nullifying the election, Justice Alfred Mabeya said Mr Mohamud was not validly elected. He moved to the appellate court and lost as judges said his election was void on grounds that he did not meet the qualification to contest the seat.
Justices Philip Waki, Asike Makhandia and Patrick Kiage said Mr Mohamud blundered by failing to appear in court and rebut claims that he does not possess a university degree.
They further said there was no need of confirming whether the election was properly conducted or was fraught with irregularities of so grave a character that they affected not only the credibility of the election but the results.
“It (the election) must stand invalidated because the person declared the winner, namely the appellant, was not qualified to vie and was not validly elected,” the judges said.
At the Supreme Court, Mr Mukhtar successfully sought to be enjoined in the case saying he had an interest in the matter.
Luck was on Mr Mohamud’s side as the country’s top court saved his job by overturning the nullification of his election.
Close friends of Mr Mukhtar claim that the political marriage between Mr Mohamud and his deputy was not one of the best and for some time, the latter contemplated resigning only for the elders to plead with him to hold on.
The patience paid as Mr Mukhtar was sworn in as Wajir’s third governor on Tuesday after Mr Mohamud was impeached by the Senate for violation of the Constitution.
A special committee of the Senate accused Mr Mohamud of endangering the health of the people of Wajir County, confirmed the impeachment by the MCAs.
While impeaching Mr Mohamud, the MCAs said the health sector is in deplorable condition despite being allocated a total of Sh2.4 billion since 2018.
They said the county referral hospital laboratory, which also serves the region, cannot conduct coronavirus tests, for lack of test kits and lack of reagents.
This, they said, is even though the county got an additional Sh194 million in the 2019/20 financial year to curb the spread of the disease.
The impeachment process was conducted hurriedly such that a few hours after senators voted to remove him from office, a gazette notice was already in place announcing Mr Mukhtar as the Wajir county boss.
He was sworn in on Tuesday by Justice Said Chitembwe as hundreds of residents witnessed the ceremony.
Mr Mukhtar, who holds a master’s degree in policy and public administration from Strathmore University, immediately said he would prioritise water, health and education sectors in his administration.
“My pledge of service is premised on objectivity and professionalism. I appeal for your support,” he said.
The new governor also pledged to uphold the unity of the Wajir people and help resolve the health crisis in the county. Healthcare workers have been on strike for the last one week.
“I will meet the health workers today with a view of addressing their issues. I will desist from nepotism and skewed allocation of resources which erodes people’s confidence,” he said.
Wajir, one of the country’s biggest counties has many untapped potential, especially in the livestock industry. The county, according to the northern Kenya livestock Census of 2009, had more than 15.3 million animals with a market value of Sh55 billion.
The county also enjoys abundant sunshine throughout the year, with vast tracts of land, which can be used to tap solar power generation.
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