Duale defies NCIC, insists Gachagua must be summoned first

Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale during a wedding ceremony in Garissa Town on Sunday July 26, 2026. [Courtesy]

Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has declared that he will not honour any summons from the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) unless former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua is also summoned over what he describes as inflammatory remarks targeting the Somali and Muslim communities.

Speaking during a wedding ceremony in Garissa Town on Sunday, Duale accused the commission of applying double standards in the enforcement of hate speech laws, insisting that all political leaders should be subjected to the same legal standards regardless of their position or political affiliation.

"I want to tell NCIC, the day you are going to summon Rigathi Gachagua is the day you are going to summon Aden Duale. The day I appear before NCIC, I will walk in together with Rigathi Gachagua," Duale said.

The Cabinet Secretary maintained that he would not comply with any summons unless Gachagua is first held accountable for remarks he claims targeted members of the Somali and Muslim communities.

"If you do not bring Rigathi Gachagua before you for the statements he made about the Somali community and Muslims, you cannot write me a letter. I will not comply," he stated.

Duale accused the former Deputy President of questioning the appointment of Somalis to senior government positions, particularly within the security sector, and making derogatory remarks about Somali business leaders.

"You stood on a public platform and asked why Somalis had been appointed to senior security positions. You insulted our business community in Eastleigh. We remained silent, and you thought we were fools," he said.

He argued that if the NCIC is genuinely committed to combating hate speech, it must investigate all leaders equally and avoid selective enforcement.

The remarks come amid a growing political storm following comments Duale made in the Somali language during a public event in Lafey Constituency, Mandera County. Critics interpreted parts of the speech as targeting the Mt Kenya region, prompting formal complaints to the NCIC and calls for investigations into alleged ethnic incitement.

On Friday, the commission confirmed that it had opened investigations into the matter.

"The National Cohesion and Integration Commission acknowledges receipt of a complaint regarding  alleged utterances by Cabinet Secretary Hon. Aden Duale. Our Investigations Department is conducting a thorough and impartial inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the said utterances," the commission said in a statement.

Duale has, however, consistently denied any wrongdoing, insisting his remarks were taken out of context and deliberately distorted for political purposes.

"I have been widely misquoted, and my remarks delivered in Lafey Constituency have been taken out of context to advance false and misleading narratives," he said.

He explained that the phrase at the centre of the controversy, "Waraabe la-tagis bartay, ka-ridis waa ku dhib," is a traditional Somali proverb referring to the difficulty of abandoning long-held habits and was never intended to demean any community.

"My message was about the importance of embracing inclusivity as the government continues to ensure that all Kenyans, regardless of their region or ethnicity, have an opportunity to serve the nation," Duale said.

The Cabinet Secretary has also ruled out apologising for the remarks despite mounting criticism from opposition leaders and some government critics.

Speaking in Marsabit on Saturday during a resource mobilization event at Karare Primary School in Saku Constituency, Duale dismissed calls for an apology and urged his supporters to ignore criticism circulating on social media.

"Do not worry about the issues you are seeing on social media. I am not going to apologise. Do you expect me to back down from my stance?" he said.

In what appeared to be a veiled attack on Gachagua, Duale argued that previous statements suggesting some communities had a greater "share" of government were far more divisive than his own remarks.

"There is no worse form of hate speech than someone standing up and declaring that another person has no share in this government and therefore will not get a job opportunity," he said.