NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 26 — Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has vowed he will not apologise for controversial remarks that have triggered a political storm and an investigation by the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC), insisting he will not retreat from his position despite mounting criticism.

📻 Breaking It Down

Speaking in Marsabit on Saturday, Duale dismissed the backlash over his comments, telling 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?” Duale said when he lresided over a resource mobilization event at Karare Primary School in Saku Constituency.

In what appeared to be a veiled attack on former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, who had repeatedly claimed that communities which voted for President William Ruto deserved a greater “share” of government, Duale argued that such rhetoric was more dangerous than his own remarks.

📌 What You Need to Know

“Because someone stood up and spoke about shares? 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.

The latest remarks signal that the Cabinet Secretary is standing by his position even as pressure mounts from political leaders and the NCIC over comments he made during a public event in Lafey Constituency, Mandera County.

On Friday, Duale defended those earlier remarks, saying he had been widely misquoted and that critics had deliberately taken his words out of context to portray him as promoting ethnic division.

He explained that a Somali proverb he used — “Waraabe la-tagis bartay, ka-ridis waa ku dhib” — was a common expression describing the difficulty of abandoning long-held habits and was never intended to target or demean any community.

According to Duale, his message in Lafey was intended to promote inclusivity and equal opportunities for all Kenyans regardless of their ethnicity or region.

He also accused critics of applying double standards, arguing that some leaders condemning him had remained silent when, according to him, inflammatory remarks targeting the Somali community were made in the past.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya