Newly elected Garissa Senator Abdulkadir Haji on Tuesday, April 13, paid glowing tributes to his late father Senator Yusuf Haji when he was sworn in.
In a speech after he was sworn in, Haji remembered the values his father taught them including hard work, being gentle, loving and always quick to forgive.
“What can I say about the world’s greatest dad? I know that it’s a cliché for a son to say that about his father but to us his children, he was simply the best and greatest," he stated.
Abdul added that his father was gentle but a great disciplinarian at the same time.
The Senator acknowledged that he had clinched the position at a time when the country was undergoing a pandemic, therefore, enduring many challenges.
"The pandemic has revealed the growing inequalities we experience as a County. We are losing Kenyans to COVID-19, yet we have no idea what the future holds,” he continued.
Additionally, he urged his fellow leaders to show compassion to their constituents and at the same time condemned corruption.
"It is not my intention to seem to advice my senior colleagues, not at all. But when you’re relatively youthful, as I am, then there is a burden of expectations by the young people...
“We must show our empathy to the people we represent when we condemn and swiftly act on any corruption that robs our counties of their future and potential,” Haji said.
Abdul first came to the limelight in 2013 during the Westgate terror attack. He was named a 'hero' by many after a photo of him saving a little girl went viral.
Prior to his election as Senator, Abdul stated that he did not have any political ambitions.
"I had accompanied my father during the elections and I never envied that campaigning life," he stated.
