The intrigues of North Eastern political trajectory

Mandera Ali Roba begins five-day tour of Mandera sub-counties. He is accomapnied in the tour by area leaders. Photo/ Courtesy

By: Khalif Goodman

The 2013 general elections presented the most profound political campaign ever witnessed in NEP, thanks to raised stakes as a result of devolution.

Politicians coalesced around tribal institutions in order to harvest votes without putting in much effort. Clan elders played a major role in deciding who their clansmen/women voted for.

In Mandera, an elaborate politician initiated but elder-driven campaign machinery delivered almost all the seats to individuals that were pre-selected as the flag bearers of their respective clans.

The aim of the clan-elder-driven campaign platform was primarily based on the competition for the political and financial resources of the county.

Clans believed that the new dispensation availed an opportunity to enrich their folks, while ensuring their rivals were weakened and eventually vanquished.

In this tyranny of numbers game, the internal cohesion and oneness of the respective clans was paramount as any division meant the “enemy” clan would take advantage.

Thus clan charters, detailing the sovereignty of the clan and the need to enhance its position viz-a-viz its neighboring clans, were developed and strictly adhered to.

The results all across the three counties of NEP was a resounding victory and a government of clan unity for the elders’ choices.

However, little in the way of social needs and development priorities were discussed during the campaign period. Candidates solely focused on maintaining the momentum generated by the clan agenda and this meant that once they were in power, there was no manifesto or development blue print to follow.

The formation of the county governments’ public service in NEP was also an exercise conducted on the premise of balancing clan interests with the winning coalitions tasking their respective clan elders to appoint the technocrats.

The Governors, especially in Mandera which I am privy to, were reduced to mere spectators in selecting their cabinet.

As the first tranche of the county government funds were released, the winning coalitions again sat on a round table and divided the divided the money amongst themselves; of course under the false pretense of financing development projects.

In Bungoma, the county government purchased wheelbarrows at the cost of 109,000 KES per unit. NEP counties didn’t fare any better and the internal revenue office in Mandera was targeted with a Rocket Propelled Grenade and levelled a day before auditors from the Office of the Auditor General landed in Mandera.

However, even as the winners and the clan gatekeepers amassed resources, the general public that voted them in continued to console themselves with tribal slogans that meant nothing.

Typically, in any democracy, the legislative arm of government is meant to act as checks and balances on the executive. However, in NEP the local assemblies were turned into deal making avenues where the lawmakers bargained with the executive on how much it would pay for any bill or budget to be passed.

In the rare occasions where the legislators took the executive to task over abuse of power, the clan elders intervened and fined the “errant” lawmakers for embarrassing the executive. Insecurity, resulted by the Alshabab menace, was used as an excuse by the governors who likened NEP to Iraq, however misleading that information proved to be.

The youth and women, who comprise of more than 75% of the total voters in the NEP counties, were treated to the charade of clan mantra and songs.

Their welfare did not improve substantially. Indeed, a number of youths were employed by the county governments but this represents an insignificant percentage of the general population of youth in NEP.

As months faded into years, the public discovered that the regimes they so enthusiastically voted in had no plans for their socio economic wellbeing. Public dissent and apathy festered as the county governments focused on greasing the hands of the clan gatekeepers and the powerful elders that brought them to power.

In Mandera, the County Senator began releasing numbered Facebook posts detailing the rot in the county government and was allegedly summoned by his clan elders who read him the riot act for ”washing the clan’s dirty linen in public”.

As the years wore on, the powerful clan elders who masterminded the landslide win began exploring options and working on modalities for maintaining the clan agenda momentum.

However, the cases were radically different. In Wajir, the elders and politicians who midwifed the win of the incumbent Governor Ahmed Abdullahi fell out of favor with him on account of his perceived ‘’arrogance and hard headedness” while in Mandera, the elders dallied with their pick until recently.

Governor Ahmed Abdullahi has been hailed as a strongman who has managed to wrestle control of his government from the elders and the politicians, unlike his Mandera counterpart. The less said about Garissa’s Governor, the better.

The campaign strategy for the 2017 elections has, ironically, gone full circle. The script is the same, only the characters have changed. Whereas the public got disillusioned and apathetic to politics, the clan elders and their new set of candidates are employing the same tactics as was used by the incumbents.

The clan identity remains at the center of the campaign issue, and the elders’ backing bestows on them the badly needed legitimacy. The Mandera elders, at least from one clan, have decided to rotate power among its constituent sub-clans.

The analogy is to ensure each sub-clan tastes power-and possibly eat the resources under its control for the short stint that it shall be in power. Mandera’s Senator has acted as the poster boy for this outfit and they have even managed to take a picture with the president-a no mean feat for elders from Mandera.

Interestingly, the public believes the same model of elder-driven-elections will yield better outcomes this time round as they parade a new line up of aspirants. The jury is still out on whether the elders can mastermind a repeat of the 2013 elections outcome.

Khalif comments on NEP politics.