Of Wajir tomorrow's verdict, petty propaganda and other useless stories.

The courts of Appeal’s big announcement regarding Wajir will be made tomorrow and naturally everyone expects the case to go their way.

Through his lawyers, Ahmed Jiir- the gubernatorial loser of last year's election- submitted before the the High Court a water-tight case that nullified the election of Governor Mohamed Abdi due to election malpractices. As a result, the High Court agreed with him and nullified Wajir’s gubernatorial election. And that is how the  matter ended up in the Appeals court. 

So what does tomorrow’s Court of Appeal verdict mean for Wajir? Ambassador Mohamed Abdi has only been at the helm for eight months and his nemesis never gave him the opportunity to govern. Unlike 2017, the current governor never pursued the legal battle with the latter in 2013. This was a result of negotiations between Wajir elders and Jiir on one side and the Ambassador on the other. As a gentleman, the Ambassador went his way knowing that there's always a tomorrow. Five years later, Jiir was beaten hands down by the good Ambassador. But Jiir being the bitter loser he is decided to rush to the courts and frustrate the old man using everything they looted.

After the ambassador’s exit, no one frustrated Jir. He ruled with iron fist without any meddling and squabbles. No one paid bloggers to castigate a newly formed government just to frustrate anyone nor portray any quarter as a non performer.

Jiir also sponsored daily propaganda against the Ambassador’s  administration and it seems like the good Ambassador- despite all resources at his disposal- couldn't counter the constant propaganda of Team Jiir. Not because he couldn't afford a sophisticated communication team but Mohamed Abdi decided to surround himself with a team full of mediocrity. 

Without taking sides, it's not fair to judge the Ambassador on the basis of just 8 months being in office. By all standards, the stint is too short to make a head or a tail about its merits and demerits.

After all, Jir governed for 5 years and there is nothing tangible to show for it. Apart from the PR gimmick played by his foot soldiers, Jir did little to raise him to the pedestal he currently enjoys. Empirically speaking, the much touted developments he bombarded us with are a tip of an iceberg compared to what his colleagues have done in other counties. That is why some people often ask what has Jiir done for the last five years for him to be a governor once again?

But as it seems, Jiir is determined to be a governor once again by all means necessary. During the five years Jiir was in power, the county government received close to 50 billion as per the Auditor General's report. Does Wajir look like a place with an investment of such magnitude? Every time folks question about the performance of Jiir's ousted government they are reminded of a 28KM road which costs less than 1.5B. Other than the much-hyped Wajir county headquarters and a KMTC college, what else can we write home about? Nothing but a charade.

Speaking of visionary, caring and selfless leadership, al marhum Ahmed Khalif, former labour minister and Secretary General of SUPKEM comes to mind. Word has it that Ahmed Jiir is a replacement of the late MP for Wajir West. Nothing could be further from the truth. Mzee died while his account was negative unlike those purporting to be his replacement who have amassed immeasurable amount of money in five year's s time. Wealth that can only be traced to public coffers. What a miserable moment. They say you can fool some people sometimes but you can't fool all the people all the time. Going by this, the true colors of the first Wajir Governor is known. Far from what he portrays himself to be.

On the other hand, it's unfortunate that Wajir has found itself where it is. In the hands of clueless, inept, rudderless and colourless characters as leaders. While the former governor emptied the county coffers smartly as per the records of the Auditor General, the current regime has no clue how to cover their "juwan kuxabis." And that's the only distinction between the two regimes.

No matter how tomorrow's verdict goes, Wajir has already lost. If Wajir would like to regain its lost glory, it has no option but to front a third force in the likely event of a by election.