07/12/2025
๐๐๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ข๐ค๐ก๐๐ข๐ซ: ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ง๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ซ ๐๐ก๐จ ๐๐ญ๐จ๐จ๐ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐
Over recent months, the people of North Eastern Kenya have endured one of the harshest droughts in recent memory. Livestock have perished, families have been displaced, and entire communities that depend on pastoral production have been pushed to the brink. Wells have dried, grazing fields have turned barren, and pastoralists have been forced to wander across dangerous borderlands in search of water and pasture. The situation has been nothing short of devastating, yet as this crisis deepened, the response from most leaders elected to represent the region has been marked by indifference and absence. In the midst of this abandonment, one leader has stood out with unwavering devotion and servant leadership: Lafey MP Mohamed Abdikheir Abdirahman.
As other legislators parade around Nairobi attending high-end weddings, exchanging pleasantries with political elites, and shouting โTutam for Rutoโ slogans in rehearsed displays of political loyalty, the Lafey MP has been on the ground day after day, walking the dusty plains with displaced families and witnessing the full weight of the droughtโs impact on his people. While many leaders have found comfort in the capital city, Mohamed Abdikheir has chosen to be present in the most remote corners of his constituency, travelling to Daaba, Marer, Matana, Wante, Danasa, Waregsana, Qurac Madoba, Sogley, Baydunta, Yucub Omana, Jifow Bada, Gabano Weyna, and dozens of other centers where suffering has been at its peak.
His updates have not been political statements crafted behind office desks but real accounts from the field journeys undertaken to check on the elderly herders struggling to keep their last goats alive, mothers waiting anxiously for relief food, and young men watching the livelihoods of generations collapse before their eyes. He has spoken to families who fled with their livestock across dangerous terrain because staying home meant starvation. He listened with humility, empathized with sincerity, and acted with urgency.
One moment in particular captured the heart of the nation: the viral video of Mohamed Abdikheir leading Salatul Istisqaa, the special Islamic prayer for rain. In that emotionally charged moment, the MPโs voice broke and tears streamed down his face as he prayed for relief for his constituents. Those tears were not theatrics. They were the tears of a leader whose heart aches for the pain of his people, a leader who understands that he carries not just political responsibility but moral duty. His willingness to publicly weep alongside his people showed a depth of compassion and humility rarely seen in modern politics.
But Abdikheirโs commitment has not been limited to prayer and emotional solidarity. He has been tirelessly coordinating relief efforts launching food distribution programs supported by the Government of Kenya, initiating water supply interventions in dozens of drought-stricken centers, and working with local communities to ensure that incoming displaced pastoralists from neighbouring constituencies can coexist peacefully. He has met elders, mobilized security actors, and engaged with local leadership to ensure that the small resources available are shared fairly and that no conflict arises over grazing or water. His leadership has combined spiritual guidance, humanitarian response, and community diplomacy.
In sharp contrast, many of his colleagues elected from the larger North Eastern region have chosen silence and disengagement. While Lafey residents face hunger and displacement, these leaders have found comfort in political gatherings in Nairobi, appearing more committed to cheering presidential slogans and attending extravagant events than addressing the humanitarian crisis back home. Their absence has been glaring. Their priorities have been insulting. Their neglect has left thousands feeling abandoned during the most painful chapter of their lives.
History will remember this drought not only for its cruelty but also for the conduct of those entrusted with public office. It will remember who stood with the people and who vanished. It will remember who walked village to village delivering support and who walked red carpets in Nairobi hotels. It will remember the leaders who prayed earnestly for rain and the leaders who prayed that their political alliances would flourish while their constituents suffered.
Mohamed Abdikheir Abdirahman has proven himself to be the kind of leader North Eastern Kenya desperately needs present, compassionate, humble, courageous, and guided by service, not ambition. He embodies a rare form of leadership rooted in genuine care rather than political theatrics. He has sacrificed comfort to stand with his people in their darkest hour. He has carried their burden as his own and shown the country the true meaning of serving the people.
As Lafey Constituency looks ahead toward future elections, the question its residents must ask is simple: who truly represents us? Who stood with us when wells dried, when cattle fell, when hunger spread, and when despair took hold? Who showed up not just as an authority figure but as a brother, a neighbour, and a source of strength?
The answer is clear. Mohamed Abdikheir Abdirahman has earned the trust of his people through action, empathy, and relentless commitment. He deserves a second term not because of political slogans, but because he has lived the values of servant leadership at a time when they were needed most. Lafey should stand with him just as he has stood, unwaveringly, with his people.
