Process to identify Borana candidate to challenge Isiolo Governor Guyo begins

Mohamed Roba Qoto, holding a ceremonial walking stick, is endorsed by the Karayu clan for the Isiolo gubernatorial seat ahead of the upcoming elections. [Ali Abdi, Standard]

The process to identify a candidate from the Borana community to run against incumbent Isiolo Governor Abdi Guyo has started in earnest.

The Karayu clan, the single largest among the Borana, has already identified Speaker of one of the two factions at Isiolo County Assembly, Mohamed Roba Qoto, as their choice for the top County seat.

The clan is now expected to formally forward Mr Qoto's name to the Borana Council of Elders (BCE), where he would face other hopefuls from other clans in the community.

The Dambe-Nono clan is expected to forward Nuh Mohamed Ibrahim, the CEO of the Sports, Arts and Social Development Fund (SASDF), who has expressed interest in the seat to the BCE.

The elders picked Qoto from a list that contained four other hopefuls, among them former two-term Isiolo South MP Abdul Bahari and ex Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) CEO Halakhe Dida. Mr Bahari had vied twice for the seat (2013 and 2017) while Dida was on the ballot for the same seat in the 2022 general elections.

A source at the three-day closed-door gathering held at a location in Meru County revealed that the elders wanted a newcomer to go for the seat, among other factors.

The elders who were involved in the search for the candidate included veteran politician Haji Charfano Guyo Mokku, businessman Ali Boru, former chairman of the defunct County Council of Isiolo Hussein Ali Abduba, Hassan Shano, a retired NGO official and human rights activist and a retired career high school teacher Tache Bonsa.

Dida, Garse Abdi Tunu and Abdiaziz Hassan Duba were present when Qoto was formally endorsed as the clan's pick for the seat.

Mokku said all the hopefuls had accepted the outcome of the ' exercise ', adding that they had also agreed to support Qoto.

" The Speaker (Qoto) is now the clan's choice for the seat of Isiolo Governor. It was a unanimous endorsement from us all," said Mokku.

He added, "The clan elders are now tasked to jointly lobby other clans (from the Borana community) for support so that Qoto becomes the entire community's flag bearer".

Mr Boru, on behalf of the elders, said Bahari left the endorsement meeting to attend to an urgent issue but was quick to add that the former MP was in agreement with the outcome of the exercise.

Bahari could not be reached for comment by the time the press.

Qoto thanked the elders for their endorsement, saying it was ' a great honour to get the blessings of the elders', adding that he would now move to reach out to the other aspirants from within the clan so that he gets their full support before embarking on a campaign to woo other elders from other clans.

" I am not yet a candidate; the process (to be the Borana flag bearer) has just begun and before going to lobby other clans for their support, I humbly request that we all remain united. I also want to seek the support of my able brothers who also wanted to go for the same seat (governorship)," he pleaded.

The BCE that has representatives at all locations within the County is expected to sit to pick a candidate presented by various clans by this August.

So far, it seems only two clans... Karayu and Dambe-Nono would present candidates, where whoever is picked would face incumbent Guyo, who hails from the Sakuye clan.