Mr Aden Duale, the Member of Parliament for Garissa Township and the Leader of Majority in the National Assembly is no stranger to controversy, and actually seems to derive pleasure from it.
He is the type of man who would want to make hay out of anything as long as it advances his political career and puts him in the public limelight; positive or otherwise.
It has been reported that in an interview carried by the British Broadcasting Corporation, Mr Duale said the Government of Kenya was ready and willing to hold talks with the murderous Al Shabaab terrorists.
Coming from a man who ranks high in the country's leadership hierarchy, such statements are indeed unfortunate.
Mr Duale comes across as a leader who thinks of consequences after the deed, but is hardly bothered by them.
May be because no one holds him to account or that he feels he is not accountable to anyone.
Holding whatever form of negotiation with the Somalia-based insurgents is tantamount to an admission that they are the equals of the Kenyan Government.
It is a tacit admission that the Government lacks the capabilities and resources to deal with the Al Shabaab which, to all purposes and intents, is a rag tag hit-and-run outfit operating out of a failed state.
We cannot forget so soon the atrocities that Al Shabaab have committed on our land, from which they appear to operate with impunity without fear of arrest whatsoever.
Only last week, as if to reaffirm their disdain for the Kenyan security forces, the insurgents staged a daring attack on the convoy of the Mandera Governor Ali Roba, killing three people among them police officers while injuring others.
The Government of Kenya has no business sitting down to a round-table discussion with a group of demented killers who have no qualms hurling grenades into churches, schools, cafes and supermarkets killing people who don't have the slightest inkling of what their grievances are.
Kenyans can only hope this is not the Government's position, for if it were, the implication is clear; that it has lost the nerve to go after and annihilate the Al Shabaab.
Mr Duale owes the Kenyan public an explanation on his utterances.
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