As we are heading towards the general election which will be held on 9/8, the politics in Tana River have started to intensify. If you compared it with the 2017 elections, this year has been slow in terms of deciding whom to choose come 9/8.

What we know so far is that the Pokomo Nation has slotted 5 gubernatorial candidates. They are as follows;

  1. Gaddae Godhana
  2. Hassan Morowa
  3. Athman Ndoyoya
  4. Adam Dhidha
  5. Omar Kofa

These are the candidate so far that have shown interest to unseat the current governor who is Gaddae Godhana.


Even though it seems the number of candidates from the Pokomo Nation side indicates they are going to lose the seat, there are only two strong and serious candidates that have a higher chance of retaining this seat to the Pokomos for the second time. These two candidates are the incumbent Gaddae Godhana and Hassan Morowa. The rest seem to be struggling to attain at least the minimum threshold support to be considered as serious contenders.


One thing as of now which is coming to light is that Godhana is losing traction of Pokomo votes. The Pokomo Nation has lost faith in Godhana. One of the major complaints of the Pokomo is that Godhana has never delivered his promise to his people. 


In 2017, Godhana promised the Pokomo that he will deliver them to heaven, but instead he left them stranded at the Pearly Gates.


With this, the Pokomo have shown less interest in Godhana moves. On his side, Godhana is afraid to call the unity of Pokomo fearing backlash from the wazees and professionals who played a major role in making sure Godhana succeeds back in 2017.


The frustrations of Pokomo Nation have been broadcasted by the youths through boycotting Godhana political meetings. The youths have extended their frustration by heckling the county boss which has continued to happen in several villages where Godhana visits.


So why will the Pokomo not allow Godhana to lead them?


1. Politics in Tana River are guided by the gasa, mabiso and the matadeda. Up to now, these three Pokomo sects have not included Godhana in any of their meetings. He is out of their matrix. In fact, in all the meetings that have happened, their main agenda is to find a strong person among the candidates who will be able to secure the top county job. No mention of Godhana anywhere.


2. In 2017, the Pokomo Nation unanimously voted for Godhana with one condition; that is to change the living standards of the Pokomo. What happened is that once he was elected the majority of Pokomo are still languishing in poverty. Nothing has changed. In fact some of the Pokomo claim that the economy under Godhana has deteriorated. They have vowed to send him home very early in the morning.


3. Godhana has been accused of corruption. This has sent a shock wave to the Pokomo Nation and they are still yet to believe this. The Pokomo have termed this as a shame. The Pokomo are known to be ethical. No Pokomo holding a top government position has ever been accused of corruption *cough*, this has been the first time. They now have vowed to elect a person with integrity. 


4. One of the main reasons that the Pokomo will not allow to be led by Godhana anymore is the fact that he has not shown any development agendas since his election. When tasked to explain why things are not moving in the county he always defends that the county has no money, that the county is paying pending bills from the previous regime. With this anti-development agenda, we have seen Tana River missing out on lucrative deals from external donors.


These are some of the reasons that Pokomo Nation has decided to allow Godhana to pack his belonging and vacate the offices come 9/8.  While we are moving towards the election date, more developments will keep on unfolding.


So who do you think will the elections come 9/8?