By Betty Luke
A section of elders and leaders in Isiolo have apologized to President William Ruto over recent heckling at a meeting in Isiolo town which was the climax of his four-day-development tour to Northern Kenya region.
Led by Isiolo South MP Mohammed Tupi, the elders distanced themselves from the Friday chaos noting that those who booed the President were ‘goons’ ferried from outside the county.
“We have had the current and former Presidents visiting Isiolo but never witnessed anything similar to what happened during Dr Ruto’s tour. That was a criminal activity that was well orchestrated,” noted MP Tupi.
They noted that the county was known for sober politics and therefore need for the security organs to investigate and expose the criminals behind the heckling.
“People were ferried on Friday morning and dropped near Isiolo Stadium where we suspect they were instructed on what to do when the president arrived. We expect the security organs to get to the bottom of it,” ex-Isiolo North MP Guyo Mokku said.
According to the elders, Ruto had demonstrated goodwill to support the pastoral communities by appointing some of the residents to his administration and therefore deserved respect.
“Ruto is the only president who has a soft spot for pastoralists. We appreciate his commitment to include pastoralists into his administration,” added Mr Mokku.
The elders faulted Governor Abdi Guyo for allegedly uttering disrespectful words to the President that they said could have contributed to the chaos.
Governor Guyo during his address in Garbatulla town expressed anger at President Ruto for refusing to spend the night in Isiolo saying “If you were not to spend here then you should have stayed in Nairobi”.
“No leader in their right mindset would say that to the President. It was uncouth and disrespectful. We want to distance ourselves from the utterances and inform President Ruto that he is welcome to Isiolo day and night,” said Mr Tupi.
Human rights activist Hassan Shano faulted the county boss over alleged failure to ensure proper planning for the visit which he said denied the residents an opportunity to air their grievances to the Head of State.
He said had Governor Guyo notified the President early enough, some of the residents would have had time to ask him to expedite the compensation of those who were evicted to pave way for the Horn of Africa Development project.
“For five years we have been waiting for compensation. The road construction is ongoing but what we have is just letters that support our compensation. We thought we would get an opportunity to share this with the President,”noted Mr Shano, who blamed the leaders for not raising the pertinent issue.
Former Councillor Hussein Abduba told off Senator Fatuma Dullo’s critics who had accused her of causing the chaos noting her political track record was clean.
“Senator Dullo has served for 15 years and we have never seen her involved in chaotic politics. It cannot be her. Her opponents are using her name as a scape goat,” he said.
Youth leader Mohammed Qalicha asked young people to shun being misused by politicians out to fulfill their selfish interests.
He implored them to respect leaders even when exercising their freedom of expression.
