I
thank all those who came to the Moi Gardens to witness the Historic
moments of our generation. Below is the speech i delivered on 27th March
2013 as an acceptance speech.
ACCEPTANCE SPEECH:
Acknowledgement of the protocols present
Thank you for being part of this historic and very important Occasion in the history of Turkana and Kenya as a whole.
I thank the almighty God who establishes the plan of men and makes them a reality, just like He has done today.
I want to thank our Families for the patience and great support that
led to this inauguration, we believe that you will indeed extend the
same to enable us discharge our duties as spelt out in our manifesto.
Most of all, thank you to the people of Turkana - from the east to the
top of Loima, and from the South to extreme North. I've enjoyed building
a relationship with you during the campaign period and the relationship
continues for another - at least - five years.
Everyone who
touched us through their support, whether you wrote in our outlook for
the very first time or met me in person to express your satisfaction or
dissatisfaction to our candidature, you made your voice heard and you
will never be trashed.
To our worthy competitors, thank you for
making us work hard and achieve this and I believe we will work together
to unite Turkana making it a habitable place for all. Yes, we can
achieve this, if we strive to put aside our differences and work
together for this one purpose.
I do want to remind all of you that
our goal was not just to become governor/deputy governor and get elected
to this great office. Our goal was to BE elected to lead, to lead. And
that's what we plan to do. And we plan to start that work immediately.
Our campaigns moved forward because of you. It moved forward because
you recognized the spirit that has triumphed over marginalization,
cattle wrestling, misconceptions, humiliations, stereotypes and
depression for ages, the spirit that has reduced us to be the pathetic
and humiliated faces of the media. In this, you sought to get the right
leadership that would deal with it and restore the pride of Turkana. We
are humbled by your trust through your vote and we are asking ALL OF YOU
whether you voted for us or not to partner in changing this status
quo.The fact that each of us will pursue our own individual dreams and
aspirations, let us remember we are NG’ITURKANA and we rise or fall
together as a community.
We are asking you to help us leave a legacy
for our future generations, to find a County that isn't weakened by
inequality, threatened by high levels of illiteracy, diseases, hunger,
thirst, insecurity, inferiority or superiority. Otherwise history will
judge all of us living today very harshly. We want to pass on a county
that's safe, food secure, better educated, dignified, respected and
admired in the whole region. A County that will invest in its youth to
produce competent human resource enough to be exported, while
recognizing the importance of its old by taking care of them. In pursuit
of achieving the MDGs and Kenya’s vision 2030, we endeavor to position
ourselves as a county that moves with readiness to work with friendly
counties/Nations, local and international organizations with confidence
beyond this time of desperation and restore the dignity of a Turkana
person.
Now, we will disagree, sometimes fiercely, about how to get
there but somehow we have to get moving forward for the sake of this
great County. It's not always a straight line, neither is it a smooth
path, but together we can achieve it. By itself, the recognition that we
have common hopes and dreams won't end all the gridlock or solve all
our problems or substitute for the painstaking work of building
consensus and making the difficult compromises needed to move this
county forward. But that common bond is where we must begin. And the
challenge I want to tell all of you is this:
I want to challenge
each of you as individuals, young and old alike, from all over this
county: fulfill your potential wherever you are and in whatever you do.
In addition, we have unlimited opportunities - unlimited opportunities.
This is going to be one of the best counties in Kenya as well as in the
region, with all eyes on us now because of the resources that God has
bestowed on our land, we need to try and exploit this opportunities to
defeat our challenges or challengers and use them as bridges to make us
the best.
What we need to do as individuals is make sure we all
fulfill our potential. Whether you're at school or working, we need to
exceed our potential. And if we all exceed our potential, Turkana County
will indeed be number one in the region.
I believe we can seize
the future together because we are not as divided as our politics
suggested. We're not as pessimistic as some pundits want us to believe.
We are greater than the sum of our individual ambitions, and we remain
more than a collection of individuals, parties and clans.
Your vote
for us is not a done work for you as citizens of this great county. Your
vote should never be about what can be done for “us”. It should be
about what can be done by us together through the hard and frustrating,
but necessary work of self-sacrifice. We must come out of the culture of
silence, the don’t care attitude and “Not being our brothers/sisters
keepers”. We need to open our eyes wide and our ears to the ground,
speak out loud, demand for better services whenever they are not
provided and ought to be; we will try to provide you with necessary
information, update you of every step/hurdles and successes we meet;
transparent and accountable systems will be our desire. That should be
our principle. That will mark the foundation of the County of the
Turkana People.
And together with your help and God's grace we will
continue our journey forward and remind the world just why it is that we
live in the greatest County in the desert of Northern Kenya.
Thank you ladies and gentlemen, May God bless Kenya and the great County of Turkana and her people!!
