By Eddah Waithaka
In a sweeping public reversal, former Disability League organizing secretary Mohamed Haji has issued a forceful apology to several prominent Somali leaders and announced his immediate defection from the Democratic Congress Party (DCP) to the United Democratic Alliance (UDA).
Haji delivered the statement Tuesday before community elders, citing a personal reckoning and deep political disillusionment.
A Public Apology
He opened with a direct apology to Abduwali, a man he said he wrongly denounced due to a similarity of name in a past “political game.” “I am apologizing publicly for denouncing him, depriving him of his right as a Kenyan,” Haji stated unequivocally.
He extended the apology to what he termed “important pillars” of the Somali community: Senator Abdul Adam Barre, former Deputy Speaker Farah Maalim, and former Assistant Minister Aden Kainan.
He pledged to no longer use vulgar words against them.“Disrespecting them is not the norm of Somali culture,” he said. “I seek their forgiveness.”
Defection from DCP
Haji then announced his resignation from the DCP, where he served as a branch official and organizing secretary for disability affairs. He symbolically handed his party card to a senior Sultan and a community elder.
He condemned his former party, calling it “an abusive party” that focuses on personal attacks rather than a national agenda.“Their day-to-day activity is to penalize, abuse, and heap vulgar words against other politicians,” Haji said.
“They don’t have an agenda, and they are inciting the people of Kenya against our beloved state.”
Joining UDA and Appeal to Northern Kenya
Declaring his new allegiance to Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s UDA party, Haji argued the DCP holds no electoral future in the region.“After closely studying the situation on the ground, the DCP has got no chance of winning even a single seat,” he asserted.
He made a direct appeal to all Kenyans, particularly northerners still in the DCP, to defect to UDA.
Personal Pressures and Convictions
When questioned if external pressure prompted his apology and defection, Haji dismissed the notion.
“I command respect from the community, I had no threat, and nobody has threatened me,” he responded. He cited the DCP’s lack of support in the north and the personal rift his prior political stance caused, including being “disowned” by his 85-year-old mother.
He credited family members, community elders, and his agent for convincing him to return “to the fold.”The move highlights ongoing political realignments in Northern Kenya ahead of the next electoral cycle, underscored by Haji’s dramatic public repudiation of his former party and allies.
