Tuesday August 22, 2017
garissa governor -elect Ali Korane is given his certificate by IEBC county returning officer Antony Njoroge after he was declared winner in the governorship race.Photo/Stephen Astariko
Jubaland President Ahmed Madobe is among the foreign dignitaries invited for the inauguration of Garissa Governor-elect Ali Korane today.
Addressing the press at Garissa Primary School on Saturday, a member of the Assumption of Office and Swearing in Committee, Siyat Osman, said invited guests include top UN officials based in the Dadaab refugee camp, officials from Ethiopia and Somalia’s federal government.
Siyat, who is the former Lamu county secretary, said, “We have invited all regional authorities because this county government has to work with them in one way or another. We know they have their people here and we know our people go there.”
He continued, “We are trying to inculcate the culture of good neighbourliness.”
Siyat and other members of the inauguration committee inspected the grounds. Siyat said the ceremony is of great significance to residents. “The campaigns are over and political temperatures have cooled down. We hope things will change for the better for the people of Garissa county. We lost our market, but we hope that will be the last ugly incident,” he said.
Fire razed the town’s open-air market.
The fire broke out moments after Korane was declared winner. He said it was politically motivated. Korane, who run on the Jubilee ticket, beat outgoing Governor Nathif Jama after garnering 55,335 votes against the incumbent’s 50,471. These were results of 352 of the 381 polling stations. Nathif disputed the results and at one time said he would not handover until the results of all the 381 polling stations were included in the final tally.