By Tracy Mutinda, The Star

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday met with Somali community elders from Garissa County who paid him a visit.

At the meeting, also attended by Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua, Treasury CS Ukur Yatani and DPP Noordin Haji, Uhuru was introduced to the new Garissa Senator Abdulkadir Haji.

They discussed several national and regional matters among them the progress of government development projects in the region.

The elders were accompanied by Garissa Deputy Governor Abdi Dagane as well as MPs Fatuma Dullo (Isiolo Senator), Adan Keynan (Eldas), Aden Duale (Garissa Township), Sophia Abdi (Ijara) and Abdikarim Osman (Fafi) among other leaders.

Earlier, Haji was sworn in as the senator.

He replaces his father, Yusuf Haji, who died on February 13 at the Aga Khan Hospital, Nairobi, where he had been undergoing treatment.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission declared Haji as the Garissa senator on April 6.

IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati announced that there was “no contest” and declared Haji “duly elected as the Senator, Garissa County.”

The Garissa by-election had been scheduled for May 18.

He was to contest for the senatorial seat on a Jubilee Party ticket but was the only candidate in the race.

Haji is a businessman and featured among private arm holders who played a key role in the rescue mission during the Westgate Mall attack in 2013.

In his maiden speech, Haji thanked members for the support they gave his family after the death of his father.

Holding back tears, he said his family still gets messages from his father’s friends telling them what his father meant to them.

“I realised this morning that we are beginning the holy month of Ramadhan. It will be the first holy month in my life without my father,” he said.

Source: The Star