Duale: Farah Maalim is a political reject in Garissa

Former Lagdera MP (Left) and Garissa Township legislator (Right). The two leaders are set to battle it out for Garissa Township seat in the next General Election

GARISSA—Former deputy speaker of the National assembly,  Farah Maalim has declared interest in the Garissa Township constituency seat currently held by the National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale. Maalim says that his decision to vie for the Garissa township seat is occasioned by demands from the youth and women from the constituency  to come to their rescue since they have been neglected by the current MP. However the majority leader has laughed off  Maalim’s bid, terming it as a non-starter.

Speaking in Garissa shortly after he attended a wedding ceremony, Farah made the declaration to the cheers of the people. Farah’s declaration of interest in the Duale’s backyard is  seen as  a destruction to ward off the Majority Leader from his continued defense of the ruling Jubilee coalition headed by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

When asked why sudden change of plan since he served Lagdera for more than one term, he replied: “…its because of great public demand, particularly the youths,” he said.

Two hashtags were initiated on twitter: #TeamDuale and #TeamFarahMaalim. The latter had the most impression with a trending period of more than 24 hours in Kenya.

The declaration of interest by Maalim has not gone down well with Duale. In a classical response, he termed Maalim ” a politacl reject.”

“Maalim’s bid is a non-stater. He is a political reject in the County,” he told K24 TV on the phone.