Yusuf Hassan Abdi

Yusuf Hassan Abdi (, ) (born 9 March 1953) is a Kenyan politician, diplomat, social activist and former journalist. After working many years with the United Nations, he joined the Kenya parliament as a legislator in 2011.

Background

Personal life Hassan was born in 1953 in Nairobi, Kenya, to an ethnic Somali family.

Hassan is Muslim. He also earned a Diploma of Higher Education (DipHE) at the same institution. He subsequently joined the Arab Times in 1978, working for almost a year as a reporter for the Kuwaiti newspaper. Because of his leading role with the association in exposing human rights abuses committed by the Kenyan government against local residents, his passport was revoked and his father was arrested.

During his first few months in parliament, Hassan was a frequent floor speaker. Addressing the National Assembly 214 times as of December 2012, he often championed issues of concern to his Somali community. According to Hiiraan Online, he had been targeted by anti-peace elements, who tried to assassinate him due to his work with the Kamukunji Constituency. Hassan was subsequently transported to the Aga Khan Hospital, where he was treated for a broken leg. Police later cordoned off the scene of the explosion as they conducted investigations into the blast's cause.

Awards In 2012, Hassan was named Person of the Year by the Somali news organization Hiiraan Online. According to the media outlet, Abdi was chosen because of his effective representation of the Somali community, his strong relationship with Eastleigh's business constituency, and his success in landing key infrastructure development projects for the riding.