Mandera Governor Ali Roba dared to unveil his “Rebel” line-up

Mandera Governor Ali Roba has been dared to unveil his line-up for the upcoming polls if indeed he has the numbers to recapture the seat.

Mandera Deputy Governor aspirant Mr Abass Maalim Hajir who is part of the team backed by the Mandera Council of Elders said Roba is just hot air without support on the ground.

"The Mandera Council of Elders lead by Sultan Mk Ali and Sultan Ali Noor has unveiled its full line-up of candidates from Governor to MPs. But Roba is all alone and cannot afford to display his team," he said Tuesday.

The Elders back former Provincial Commissioner Hassan Noor Hassan for Governor, and their order on Roba to step down from contesting for the seat has been spurned by the incumbent.

He was speaking Tuesday evening in reaction to Roba's statement daring the candidates preferred by the Council of Elders to face him in Jubilee nominations if they believe in themselves.

The elders have said they will shun Jubilee nominations if they don’t get direct nominations and decamp to another party willing to accommodate them.

"The elders control almost all votes in Mandera County and their preferred candidates cannot participate in a nomination against Roba whom they have already ruled out," he said.

The Deputy Governor aspirant warned Jubilee that if they do not accede to the requests of the elders to grant their candidates direct nominations, they will lose Mandera County.

He said in the 2013 polls, more than 98 per cent of voters in Mandera cast their ballots for Jubilee due to the endorsement of the council of elders.

"Votes in Mandera may cause President Uhuru Kenyatta to miss getting the 50+ one votes needed to clinch the Presidency. So Jubilee must be careful. They should know the people to work with in Mandera not Roba," he said

He said that if Jubilee fails to respond positively, the Mandera Council of Elders will announce a new party they will be joining by Sunday.

"We are being approached by many parties ready to offer us direct nominations. The elders are still making consultations before they announce the final decision on Sunday," he said.

He insisted that contrary to rumours, the Council of Elders has not yet decided that they will be joining the National Super Alliance (NASA) composed of Opposition figures such as Raila Odinga, Kalonzo Musyoka, Musalia Mudavadi and Moses Wetang’ula.