Aden Duale's war drums: CS sparks storm with tribal, 2027 outbursts

Health CS Aden Duale before the National Assembly's Health committee to consider Budget Estimates FY 2025/26 at Parliament buildings, Nairobi. May 14th,2025. [Elvis Ogina, Standard] Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale is once again in the eye of the storm for beating the drums of war. The inflammatory remarks he made recently have been described by Kenyans and leaders across the political divide as careless, divisive and outrageous. Some have demanded that apart from containing his loose tongue, Duale - who is not new to controversy - should apologise to Kenyans, especially communities from the Mt Kenya region he unleashed his vitriol against, or face impeachment by Parliament. The National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) said it had taken the statement seriously and also promised to deal with Duale because he mentioned the coming elections, implying that violence is anticipated. "My team is investigating and working with the Communications Authority of Kenya to verify the clip and see whether it meets the threshold to summon him. We are very concerned. It is not just him, there are several who have made comments in relation to 2027," NCIC Chairman Rev Samuel Kobia told The Standard. The outspoken politician, a member of President William Ruto's kitchen cabinet and his self-confessed sycophant, drew the ire of Kenyans last weekend through crass claims that the Mt Kenya community and some of its leaders feel more entitled than other tribes in the country. Speaking at Mbalambala, Duale told members of his Somali community that the country is back in the 2007 political mode, now that President Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga are working together in the broad-based government. "Ile vumbi mtapata 2027, ni kama ile ya 2007 (The dust you will see in 2027 is similar to what happened in 2007). I want to tell the man we chased, Rigathi Gachagua, that no tribe is bigger than the other in the constitution. Don't belittle Somalis by calling them terrorists," warned a visibly angry Duale. During his US tour, Rigathi told Kenyans in the diaspora he was privy to some deals cut between President Ruto and Al-Shabaab terrorists who recently abducted chiefs from Mandera, where money allegedly exchanged hands before they were released. After cautioning Gachagua not to dare insult Somalis again, Duale heaped praise on the President, claiming he had brought more development to the North Eastern region than his four predecessors. Duale has received a lot of backlash following those remarks, especially for comparing the coming 2027 elections to the bloody 2007 elections when at least 1,300 Kenyans lost their lives because of post-election violence. Githunguri MP Gathoni Wamuchomba described Duale's comments as heart-wrenching, especially coming from a leader of his stature. She also urged him to stop the tribal narrative he appears to be advancing. "You are out of order. If you have beef with Wamunyoro (Rigathi Gachagua), kindly square it out with him but leave the rest of the community in peace. You should withdraw your utterances. If you want to pay extra-judicial killings victims, please do so," said Wamuchomba. She was referring to the committee President William Ruto and Raila Odinga established to work on a compensation formula for victims of extra-judicial killings. And so, apart from attacking specific communities and opposition leaders, Duale also appears irked by leaders opposing the creation of the committee. Analysts argue that the extra-judicial killing of hundreds of youth since last year will be a key campaign issue in 2027, hence its sensitivity. Duale has in the past crossed the limits of common decency through his utterances or exuberant promises that are never delivered. In September 2014, he attacked then Bomet Governor Isaac Rutto, who was also the chairman of the Council of Governors. He was not happy that the latter had joined the opposition to agitate for more money to be allocated to county government through the "Pesa Mashinani" referendum agenda. "Hiyo pesa si mama yako (The money does not belong to your mother)," he barked at Rutto, who had to be restrained from attacking Duale, then Leader of Majority in Parliament. He has also in the past been accused of treating the country to the sad comedy of threatening to name sympathisers and financiers of terrorism in Kenya, a promise he has not kept to date while terrorists continue to kill hundreds of Kenyans. After the Garissa University terror attack in 2015, when terrorists killed 148 people and injured 80 students, Duale promised to name people financing the terrorists. He claimed they had slept in a well-known Garissa hotel before attacking. A few months ago, former Attorney General Justin Muturi revealed that Duale frequently hangs around President Ruto taking tea and gossiping at State House. Duale responded saying he cannot throw away the chance of being around power. When he took over as CS in the Ministry of Health, Duale was breathing fire, saying he had embraced the nickname "Bulldozer" that striking doctors had given him and would deal with corruption and cartels. Political analyst Martin Andati reasoned at the time that appointing a politician to head the Ministry of Health could compromise service delivery. "The risk of having politicians in such positions is that they become susceptible to external interests and other pressures, thus hurting service delivery and professionalism." Political and governance scholar Prof Gitile Naituli also spoke against weaponising tribal politics and taking the country back to 2007. He cited claims by former CS Moses Kuria that the Mt Kenya region was being targeted by Duale and senior people engaged in 2027 political campaigns. "When Moses Kuria, himself a former minister in the Kenya Kwanza government and until recently a presidential advisor, warns that the administration has embarked on an anti-Kikuyu campaign, we must pause and listen carefully," said Prof Naituli. In 2013, when Ruto became deputy president, Duale lobbied to get half of the positions in government allocated to his United Republican Party (URP) side of the coalition and he was then appointed Leader of Majority in the National Assembly. The former Dujis and Garissa Town MP emerged then as one of the most powerful men in President Uhuru Kenyatta's Jubilee government, courtesy of his close relationship with Ruto. He was one of Raila Odinga's harshest critics, repeatedly attacking him as a spent force who relies on getting into power-sharing deals through the back door. Last year, Duale claimed that he fell out with Raila because he betrayed him when the grand coalition government was formed in 2008, by not appointing him Cabinet Minister despite being his chief campaigner in the northern Kenya region. "I was a loyalist of Baba. He introduced me into politics. I campaigned for him in North Eastern and other Muslim-populated areas. I was his chief campaigner in the North in terms of the numbers and resources and that is where the politics of deceit started," said Duale. He has, however, changed tune after his boss embraced Raila this year and true to his character, Duale has quickly moved on from a harsh Raila critic to one of his biggest supporters. He was elected on an ODM ticket in 2007, after he joined the successful "No" campaign side in the 2005 referendum on the constitution. Last week, in Homa Bay, he praised ODM leader Raila Odinga as his political mentor. Duale's latest remarks have been described as divisive by Narok Senator Ledama Olekina, who has also called for his impeachment should he persist with such threats. "As a Cabinet Secretary, you represent the whole country and should act as a neutral policymaker, not a tribal leader. Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua was impeached for making similar remarks," warned Olekina. He told Duale that his remarks were like Gachagua's shareholding talk, which is pure poison, and also cautioned him against dragging Kenya back to the dark days of 2007 and spreading fear. The Senator regrets that the likes of Duale were pulling the country backwards when young people were working hard to unite Kenya. "If you think you're above the law, think again. It's clear: impeachment may be the only way to remind you that government belongs to all Kenyans, not your sub-tribe. Enough of this tribal madness," fumed Olekina, who out of character has become a fierce government critic. Rev Kobia said the trend is worrying but that the commission will stop it: "We are very concerned as a commission about these growing trends on comments made about the coming elections. It is not just him (Duale). And if it is a trend like this, where individuals make repeated comments, we even take it more seriously."

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