Tana River County Assembly during a past session. [Photo/tupo.co.ke]
Former senator aspirant Justin Nkaduda has clinched the Tana River speaker seat.Nkaduda won the seat after garnering 15 votes against former deputy speaker Hassan Dube’s 8 votes. Nkaduda won in the second round of voting after failing to get 2/3 of the votes required for one to be elected speaker. In the first round of voting, Nkaduda got 14 votes while Dube garnered 8 votes. The post attracted twelve candidates including gubernatorial aspirants Danson Mungatana and Anania Karhayu Deye, as well as former MPs Ibrahim Sane (Garsen) and Hassan Dukicha (Galole).Others in the race included former senator candidates Michael Justin Nkaduda, Omar Kofa Komora and Bakari Garise Omara. Chewani MCA Mohamed Salim Aribicho and former Hirimani MCA aspirants Ishaaq Buya, Hassan Malibe Morowa and Daud Galdesa Tuyo had also declared interest in the seat. However, Mungatana’s name did not appear on the ballot paper as he had withdrawn from the race.“I decided to withdraw from the contest due to unavoidable circumstances,” said Mungatana, as quoted by Baraka FM.Speaking after he was sworn in on Thursday, Nkaduda, an ODM member, vowed to serve both the minority and majority members equally, as well as uphold the constitution.