NAIROBI—A section of elders in the Garre community have came out to denounce the August 7 Banisa Declaration which called for the elected political leaders to give up on politics, a decision that caused national debate.
In a meeting held at Weston Hotel in Nairobi on Saturday, the 20 elders representing 20 sub-clans in the Garre community said they would back elective politics, adding that the Banisa decision was not all-rounded.
“The (Garre) Charter calls for the presence of 421 members representing the 20 sub-clans that make up the Garre,” Haji Ali Baricha of the Daraawa subclan said while reading the press statement on behalf of the 20 elders.
“In line with the Charter, the General Assembly of the 421 representatives will be called soon to save the deteriorating situation and to chart a way forward for the community,” Haji Baricha added.
The elders said the Banisa declaration lacked merit in the law, arguing that the constitution only allows elective politics and not selective politics.
“Mandera is among the violence prone counties and if this is allowed to continue it can hamper development programs and create disharmony among the various communities,” the elders observed.
In a national report earlier this year, the National Cohesion and Integration Commission identified Mandera as a post-election violence prone county along the neighbouring Wajir County.
Governor Ali Roba has earlier denounced the Banisa Declaration, saying the process was not honest and that it was laced with malicious intent.
A section of the civil society orgernisations and political activists have termed the rotational politics as self-defeating, adding that it would cause laxity and a certain level of unaccountability on the incumbent leaders and top county officials.
