Yusuf Haji Biography

Yusuf Haji is a Kenyan politician and the senator for Garissa county , born on 23 December 1940 in Kenya. He is a member of  The National Alliance and a coalition member of Jubilee Alliance.

 Yusuf Haji Education Background

He started school in 1946 and proceeded to pursue his secondary school education in the year 1954 at KAPE British T. College and graduated in 1958. He went to Kenya Institute of administration in the years 1970 to 1971 where he studied Advanced Public Administration which he advanced in the year 1982. Yusuf travelled to UK in 1981 where he studied Diploma in Management and Financial Control and later graduated in 1983.

Yusuf Haji Sons

Yusuf has two sons; Abdul Haji and Noordin Haji.

Yusuf Haji Political career

Current Political Position

• 11th March 2013 – Up to date: Senator for Garissa county.
• 13th February 2013 – Up to date: Coalition Member of Jubilee Alliance
• 8th February 2013 – Up to date: Member of The National Alliance (TNA)

Previous Political Positions

• 2008 – 4th March 2013: Minister of State Defense
• 2008 → 4th March 2013: Member of Parliament for Ijara
• 1998 – January 2013: Member of Kenya African National Union
• 18th June 2012 September 2012: Minister of State for Internal Security and Provincial Administration (Acting capacity)
• 2003 → 2007: Member of Parliament for Ijara
• 2003 → 2007: Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs (office of the President)
• 1998 – 2002: Nominated Member of Parliament
• 1998 – 2001: Assistant minister office of the President

Yusuf Haji Early career

Haji began his professional career in administration and management. He joined the Provincial Administration of Kenya as a District Officer, where he served as Provincial Commissioner between 1970 and 1997.

In 1998, Haji was nominated as a member of the Kenyan Parliament. He was later elected an official Member of Parliament on a Kenya African National Union (KANU) ticket.

From 1998 to 2001, Haji worked as an Assistant Minister in the Office of the President. He subsequently acted as the Office’s Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs in 2002.

On a KANU ticket, Haji was elected to represent the Ijara Constituency in the National Assembly of Kenya at the 2007 parliamentary elections.

Yusuf Haji Minister of Defense

On 8 January 2008, Haji was appointed Kenya’s Minister of State for Defence after the 27 December 2007 general elections.

On 18 October 2011, Haji and a Kenyan delegation met with Transitional Federal Government of Somalia (TFG) officials in Mogadishu to discuss security issues cooperation against the Islamist Al-Shabaab group as part of the coordinated Operation Linda Nchi. Haji and Somalia’s Minister of Defense Hussein Arab Isse then signed an agreement to collaborate against the insurgent group.

In early June 2012, Haji signed another agreement officially re-hatting Kenya’s deployed military forces in Somalia under the AMISOM general command. Haji’s term as Minister of Defence ended on 26 April 2013.

Yusuf Haji Minister of Internal Security

On 18 June 2012, Haji was appointed Kenya’s acting Minister of Internal Security and Provincial Affairs after the incumbent minister George Saitoti died in a helicopter crash a few days earlier. Haji had previously worked closely with Saitoti on the Linda Nchi military operation. Haji held the new position concurrently with the Minister of Defense docket until a permanent Internal Minister was appointed on 21 September 2012.

Yusuf Haji Personal Life

Haji was born in 1940 in Garissa District in the North Eastern Province to an ethnic Somali family. He hails from the Abdalla subclan of the Ogaden Darod. For his post-secondary education, Haji earned a diploma from the University of Birmingham, where he majored in Management and Finance Control. Haji is a Muslim and is married.

Yusuf Haji  Contacts

Address: P.O Box 41842 – 00100 Nairobi, Kenya

Parliament Buildings
Parliament Rd.
P.O Box 41842 – 00100
Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: 0711269388 / 0722709395
Email Address: ijara@parliament.go.ke

Yusuf Haji News

Senator Yusuf Haji Put on Spot Over CS Fred Matiang’i’s Grilling

Adopted From: kenyans.co.ke
Published: 28 March 2019

The two were on Wednesday being grilled over the implementation of the National Integrated Information Management Systems (NIIMS) known as the Huduma Namba.

A section of the senators accused Haji of not giving them enough chance to grill the two cabinet secretaries over the project that was expected to be rolled out at Ksh6 Billion.

Earlier reports also indicated that Haji had barred the media from accessing the meeting room.

The move, which was allegedly decided by Haji alone, was meant to be a closed-door type in which members of the press were not invited.

In February, the two CSs failed to appear before the senate committee for grilling and instead sent their secretaries.

The Huduma Namba exercise, which was set out for roll out countrywide on April 2, was subsequently suspended as a result of the failure.

They were summoned after Kericho Senator Aaron Cheruiyot raised concerns over the process’s security pinpointing the amount of personal information that would be collected from Kenyans.

The government had announced that the process would take a maximum of 45 days to be completed.

Interior PS Karanja Kibicho revealed that after the process was done, the government would then carry out a 3-month data cleansing exercise before taking a month-long data harmonization process.

Garissa Senator Yusuf Haji Celebrates at Wedding by Firing Gun

Adopted From: kenyans.co.ke
Published: 17 April 2019

In the undated video, the MC is heard inviting Haji to the podium to give advice to the newlyweds.

Moments later, the former minister shows up with a pistol in his hand and proceeds to fire in the air.

The crowd is heard cheering and clapping as the senator fires his gun. He shot in the air four times.

This incident which has caught many people by surprise is a common practice among the Somali community.

It is still not clear how the practice came to be. However, some sources indicate that it is linked to the European-gun salute tradition.

According to an online source, the practice is an old tradition that is used to bind two people from different tribes.

An elder from each tribe is selected to shoot in the air to show that they are behind each other and expect to be treated well.

Other occasions that the Somali community mark with celebratory gunfire is graduation and birthday ceremonies.