Kilifi governor hopeful Geoffrey Katsoleh was yesterday endorsed by communities from upcountry. The communities, through their welfare associations, said Katsoleh has what it takes to hold the seat.

Led by the associations' chairman Emmanuel Kamau, the members of the Malindi Welfare Association said that they have endorsed him because he has the interests of the people at heart.

Kamau said that they will work hard to see that Katsoleh succeeds. "We are behind Katsoleh because he is an administrator and he has the capacity to do the work. He has been a town clerk and a director in the local government so he can do this work better," he said.

Kamau cautioned Kilifi residents against choosing someone who has no vision. "If we are going to just choose people without weighing their capacity, we are going to lose big time. First, we will not be competitive and second our county will be taken by the central government," he said.

On the other note, a member of the association, Martin Odao, advised aspirants to choose trustworthy agents in order to curb rigging. "Let all candidates look for learned and trustworthy agents for the election exercise to go well. Dishonest agents always leave loopholes for the election exercise to be manipulated," he said.