A section of elders and residents from the Fafi constituency have held peaceful demonstrations in Garissa town to express their disappointment over the alleged assault on their MP Salah Yakub on Monday at Nyayo House in Nairobi.
On Monday, the first-term MP took to his Twitter handle to express his predicament alleging that he had been assaulted by police officers at the Nyayo house.
He said that he had gone there to follow up on the passport application process for some of his constituents.
While defending their MP, the residents now want the Cabinet Secretary in charge of security Kithure Kindiki to take action.
“We are greatly disturbed by the events in which our MP was assaulted in Nyayo's house. Heis a state officer and was going to a state office to check on the progress of the issuance of passports for some of his constituents but instead was thrown out in such a disrespectful manner,” said Omar Abdullahi Noor, an elder from Fafi constituency.
“We condemn that barbaric act and call upon the interior minister to take action against those officers. We will not allow the people from the Northeastern region to be mistreated when seeking services from government offices,” he added.
The residents further want the government to expedite the reopening of the immigration offices in Garissa County to serve the region.
On Tuesday, ODM-nominated MP Umulkheir Harun also hit out at the police accusing them of harassing the MP and residents from North Eastern.
“Hon Salah has his passport, he was probably there to get a document for his voters, highlighting the injustices our people face to access basic documents. He was only there to ensure his voters got these crucial documents. It shows the underlying challenge that Northern people face,” she said in a Facebook post.
She added:
“Surely 60 years of independence yet Somalis still face several layers of scrutiny. This must stop. Nobody whether an MP or not should be treated like this. I am deeply sorry my brother and we stand with you,”.
Recently, the interior CS while in Garissa said that renovations on the old Garissa high court offices were ongoing and once completed, the regional immigration offices would be domiciled there.