Health CS Aden Duale on Saturday led a group of leaders from Garissa County in mobilising support for President William Ruto’s re-election in the 2027 General Election, declaring that the region has resolved to back the President for a second term.
Duale, accompanied by former Garissa governor and gubernatorial aspirant Ali Korane, former PS Abdi Dubat, and former Members of Parliament Abdikarim Osman and Ibrahim Salat, said as leaders they had unanimously agreed to drum up support for Ruto’s re-election.
They spoke in Bura East, Fafi constituency, during an extensive development and community engagement tour.
He said the government had introduced mobile registration equipment to make it easier for residents, particularly those in remote and pastoralist communities, to obtain identification documents and register as voters.
The CS launched and inspected the ongoing national ID registration exercise in the area before visiting Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission voter registration desks and encouraged residents to take advantage of the continuous voter registration exercise.
“We have launched voter registration and ID registration using the new equipment that this administration has introduced, which is mobile. I am very happy with the turnout for ID registration, voter registration and SHA registration,” Duale said.
He said the government would intensify registration efforts by taking the exercise closer to the people, including into schools, to ensure young Kenyans who have attained the age of acquiring IDs are captured.
The CS said the mobilisation drive was also aimed at ensuring that the region registers as many eligible voters as possible ahead of the 2027 elections.
“At every function we have as leaders, we will have a side event for ID registration and voter registration. Our county commissioner is here, and our DCC is here. We have agreed that ID card registration should be taken to schools. Those in Form 3 and Form 4, and others who have qualified to acquire IDs, must be registered,” he said.
Duale also disclosed that registration under the Social Health Authority had increased significantly in Bura East from about 6,000 during his previous visit to 18,000.
He urged community health workers, doctors and nurses to take the registration exercise to rural areas and ensure that as many Kenyans as possible are enrolled in government programmes.
Duale said leaders from the region had agreed to support President Ruto’s re-election based on what he described as the administration’s development record.
“Our aim is to make sure that, inshallah, in the next election, our region’s president of choice is none other than the current President, His Excellency Dr William Ruto,” he said.
Duale said the President should be judged on his record rather than his political name or position, pointing to developments in healthcare, education, agriculture, roads and the wider economy.
“We are not electing Dr William Ruto because he is called Dr William Ruto. Dr William Ruto has delivered. The data is there and the numbers are there,” Duale said.
Former Garissa governor and gubernatorial aspirant Ali Korane said leaders from the region had agreed to rally behind President Ruto, despite differences that may arise over other elective positions.
Korane said the leaders had used the Bura East tour to sensitise residents on SHA, ID and voter registration, while also explaining government projects being implemented in the area.
“As leaders of the NFD, we have agreed that this is the position we have taken. We can have all our other differences on other seats and other issues, but we are united behind the President,” Korane said.
He urged residents to turn out in large numbers during the 2027 elections and vote to retain the current administration.
“We want our people to turn up in large numbers to vote back this government,” he said.
Former PS Abdi Dubat said the community had a responsibility to register in large numbers to ensure that it had a strong voice in the 2027 presidential election.
Dubat said a significant number of residents already possessed national identification cards but had not registered as voters, making the ongoing mobile registration exercise critical.
“It is in the interest of this community to register as voters in large numbers so that we can deliver a good number of votes for the presidency in 2027,” he said.
Health CS Aden Duale speaking to the press in Bura East. He is flanked by fellow leaders./STEPHEN ASTARIKO
Health CS Aden Duale and fellow leaders inspected the ongoing national ID registration exercise in Bura East, Fafi sub-county. /STEPHEN ASTARIKO
Health CS Aden Duale inspects drugs at the Bura sub-county hospital. /STEPHEN ASTARIKO
