‘Show us what you have done’: Mandera leaders challenged to account

Political leaders in Mandera East and Lafey have been challenged to shift the political conversation from rhetoric and promises to a clear account of what they have delivered for residents.

Musa Yarrow, an elder from the Murule community, said voters should be presented with tangible projects and measurable results rather than political slogans, arguing the true test of leadership is the difference it makes in people’s daily lives.

Musa, who is also a member of the Kenya Ports Authority board of directors, said leaders should openly account for public resources placed under their stewardship and allow residents to assess their records based on visible development. He spoke at Sir Ali Muslim Club during a community gathering.

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“The projects done by the President are known. Local leaders should showcase what they have done at the county and constituency level with the CDF kitty,” Musa said.

He said residents of Mandera East and Lafey were looking beyond political speeches and wanted practical solutions to challenges affecting their families, businesses and pastoral livelihoods.

The development agenda, he said, should prioritise reliable water systems, all-weather roads linking settlements and markets, better-equipped health facilities, improved schools, livestock markets, veterinary services, electricity connectivity and economic opportunities for young people and women.

Musa said investment should focus on projects capable of generating lasting economic value, particularly in a region where livestock remains the backbone of many households.

He said water pans, boreholes, strategic livestock markets, fodder production and veterinary services would help reduce the pressure created when pastoralists are forced to move long distances in search of pasture and water.

Musa also called for greater attention to women and young people, saying constituency development should create pathways for enterprise, skills development, employment and access to markets rather than concentrating only on short-term assistance.

“People want opportunities that can change their lives. We need projects that will continue benefiting families long after the leaders who initiated them have left office,” he said.

Musa further called for greater consultation between political leaders and religious scholars, elders, women and youth, saying community decisions would be more meaningful if they reflected the concerns of the wider population.

He said religious leaders had an important role in promoting peace and social cohesion, while young people and women should be included in discussions on development, employment, education and enterprise.

On the political landscape, Musa said the Egal Sharmarke subclan, one of the subclans of the Murule community, had been consulting political and community leaders ahead of the 2027 Mandera East parliamentary contest.

He said the consultations were aimed at building consensus around a candidate capable of bringing different sections of the community together, with Omar Sala emerging as the preferred candidate among the Egal Sharmarke leadership circles.

The move follows the decision by engineer Abdi Maalim to withdraw from the Mandera East race and support Sala, in what community leaders have described as an effort to consolidate their political position.

Musa said the consultations would extend beyond one community, with the Egal Sharmarke leadership expected to engage other Murule subclans and communities in Mandera county.

He said the political strategy would be guided by consultation rather than pressure, adding that unity would be important in negotiations over leadership positions and development resources.

His remarks came amid a competitive Mandera East race involving Sala, incumbent Hussein Weytan of the Kulow subclan of Murule Weytan and Ahmed Ali Madey of the Ali Sharmarke subclan.

Musa also welcomed President William Ruto’s commitment to improving infrastructure in the region, including the proposed tarmacking of subcounty headquarters.

“We are happy the President will tarmac all subcounty headquarters. We see the gains under his tenure and, for the first time, we feel part and parcel of the government. We can no longer talk of being excluded,” he said.

Musa urged residents to demand a development conversation centred on what can be seen, measured and sustained.

“My advice to politicians is to kindly stop political rhetoric and sell their manifestos to the electorate. Let them state what they have delivered and account for their time in office, and then the voters will decide at the ballot,” he said.