The 2022 general elections has seen little known leaders bag influential positions. Abdi Hassan Guyo, the ex-Nairobi County Assembly Majority Leader, took the leap of faith and is now the Isiolo County governor elect.
Here is the inspiring career journey of the ex-Matopeni MCA as told by WoK.
His Journey
Abdi Hassan Guyo is from the Borana-Sekuye clan in Isiolo County. He relocated to Nairobi to pursue other interests in business and politics. He was first elected as councillor of Kayole in 2007 while aged 21 years old. In 2013 under the new constitution he won the Matopeni Ward MCA seat and served as the Minority Leader in the County Assembly under the regime of the then Governor Evans Kidero. In the 2017 general elections, he successfully defended his seat and was appointed the County Assembly Majority Leader under the ruling Jubilee Party.
2022 Politics
As the country was approaching the general elections, Abdi knew it was time to scale up and vie for a more powerful seat since he had outgrown the MCA position. He first considered unseating Benjamin Gathiru in the Embakasi Central parliamentary seat. Speaking during a church service at African Revival Centre on October 26th 2021, he revealed that he would be contesting for the seat on a ‘handshake party’ ticket.
“I will be vying for the Embakasi Central seat come 2022 and will contest through the handshake party to be unveiled by President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga,” he said.
However on 27th March 2022, just four months to the elections, Abdi made a shocking announcement that he will be dropping his parliamentary bid to try his luck in the Isiolo county gubernatorial race. Shortly after the announcement, he was endorsed by the incumbent governor Mohammed Kuti and the Sekuye community. He told a local daily that he decided to join the Isiolo county gubernatorial race after a deal was brokered by the region’s elders due to the outgoing governor’s health-related issues.
“After consultation with my people, I have decided that I will vie for the Isiolo governor’s seat. I believe I have what it takes to take our county to the next level,” he said.
Announced winner
He won the Isiolo governor’s seat on a Jubilee party ticket after garnering 28,946 votes. His main competitor, the first Isiolo County governor, Godana Doyo, who was running on an Independent ticket got only 2,551 votes. Guyo thanked his supporters and pledged to work with the people of Isiolo.
“I am honored and grateful to you, the people of Isiolo, for bestowing on me the trust to serve as the third Governor of Isiolo. I thank my family, my Campaign Team and the people who supported me on the tedious journey we made together for the last couple of months,” he said.
