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Bring certified papers, IEBC tells Mandera UDA governor aspirant

 

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has declined to clear Mandera UDA gubernatorial aspirant Ali Noor Aden for lack of certified academic papers.

Mandera County Elections Manager Adan Harar said the aspirant failed to provide certified academic papers as required by law.

“Until the aspirant presents certified academic papers, he cannot be cleared to vie in the August elections,” Mr Harar said.

Mr Aden has up to Tuesday to provide all the requirements for the electoral body to clear him.

He claimed to be a holder of a degree in education from Kenyatta University.

‘Small issue’

“I have been turned away over a small issue but I will resolve it and present my papers,” Mr Aden said.

In a recent communication, IEBC had informed aspirants with degrees from universities within Kenya that they should produce a copy of the certificate certified by the institution as a true copy of the original.

Nation.Africa learnt that what the UDA aspirant presented had been stamped by a quality officer at Jogoo House, the Ministry of Education headquarters, and not by Kenyatta University.

IEBC demanded that aspirants with foreign degrees must present a letter of recognition and an equation from the Commission for University Education.

“The directives were communicated to me late Friday when I had to present myself Saturday morning. I have already corrected the error and I will head back for clearance,” Mr Aden said.

Appeal for peaceful campaigns

The second aspirant to present his papers was Mr Mohamed Adan Khalif, the Mandera County Assembly Speaker who is now seeking to succeed Governor Ali Roba.

Mr Khalif is using the United Democratic Movement (UDM) party ticket. The party is led by Governor Roba.

“I have been cleared and that means I have my eyes fixed on the ball. I am appealing for peaceful campaigns as we seek to succeed Governor Roba,” he said.

Mr Khalif used the same platform to defend his academic qualifications, denying reports that he has a fake degree.

“I am not an academic dwarf as my competitors are portraying it out there. How did I qualify to be the county assembly speaker if I had a fake degree?” he asked.

Mr Khalif holds a degree in business management studies from Kampala University in Uganda, obtained between April 2009 and December 2011.

Between April 2008 and December same year, Mr Khalif was at the same institution for pre-university studies.

“Qualifications of being a county assembly speaker are the same as those of being a governor. I qualified in 2017 to be the assembly speaker and I have qualified to vie as a governor with the same academic papers,” he said.

Mr Khalif maintained that all the academic papers in his possession are valid, further describing those questioning his academic qualifications as political detractors.

“We have people interested in pulling others down but I want to tell them that they have failed over my academic qualification,” Mr Khalif said.

Presenting a new face

Mr Adan Mohamed, a former Cabinet secretary who is also seeking the Mandera governorship on a Jubilee Party ticket, was also cleared.

“Being cleared means the rubber meets the road and the journey for the people of Mandera to choose their future leadership has begun,” Mr Mohamed said.

He said the ball has been thrown to the electorate and that they remain the final jurists in the gubernatorial race.

“Our local community has had the experience of the last ten years. We are presenting a new face that comes with change in Mandera,” he said.

He urged residents of Mandera to choose their political leaders carefully for development to be realised in the county.

According to Mr Mohamed, aspirants riding on clan politics should be ignored while those presenting a development agenda should be considered.

“Gone are the days when people were put in leadership positions because they belonged to a certain clan or family. We need people interested in fixing the situation in Mandera and let us not waste time on clan-based politics,” he said.

If elected, Mr Mohamed said he will focus on improving the local economy by expanding business entities and empowerment of the business community.

“We need to redraw our priorities as a county and the voter has to demand from all of us seeking political office to know what we shall do differently,” he said while pledging to be a governor who will listen to the people’s concerns.

“We have had good opportunities in the last ten years but all that has been squandered by a few individuals and this is what we want to avoid. We want a government that will include everyone in decision making,” he said.

According to the Harvard graduate, Mandera County has so many low hanging fruits that can be used in changing locals’ livelihood.

“We so have many easy things to fix in Mandera including supply of clean water in our major towns but that has not happened in the past ten years yet we have a river in this county,” he said.

Livestock production

He pledged to heavily invest in livestock production for value addition. He also vowed to allow the county government to operate freely.

“We shall not have a situation where the county staff are held at ransom like it is happening now. We want to have staff that can make independent decisions and serve our people freely,” he said.

Mr Hassaon Noor Hassan of Orange Democratic Movement is expected to present his papers Monday afternoon.

Despite appearing on the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission list of aspirants with integrity issues, IEBC said Mr Hassan will be cleared.

EACC said Mr Hassan was charged in 2016 with other members of the Tender Committee at the Devolution Ministry but was acquitted.

“It is trite law that persons who have been tried in court but acquitted are innocent and cannot therefore be barred from contesting as candidates in an election. The aspirant is therefore qualified under this field to contest as a candidate,” IEBC said in a press statement on Saturday.

If cleared, Mr Hassan will be making a second stab at the gubernatorial seat after controversially losing to Governor Roba in 2017.

Another aspirant, Mr Adan Ibrahim Mohamed of Usawa Party, has up to Tuesday to present himself for clearance.    BY DAILY NATION  

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