Divisions inside President William Ruto’s government have spilled into the open, with Cabinet Secretaries publicly disagreeing over the 2027 succession race.
The biggest fallout is between Health CS Aden Duale and Lands CS Alice Wahome, after Duale made remarks about the Mt Kenya community that have angered leaders from the region.
Separately, Deputy President Kithure Kindiki and Public Service CS Geoffrey Ruku have also disagreed publicly, this time over whether Mt Kenya East should go its own political way ahead of next year’s elections, instead of voting together with the rest of the Mt Kenya region.
In a video shared widely online, Duale, speaking in Somali, compared the Somali and Kikuyu communities based on their population sizes. He said the Somali community had been discriminated against under the Kenyatta and Kibaki presidencies, while another community benefited more.
Speaking later in Mandera, he compared the Kikuyu community to a hyena that wants to eat everything while locking other communities out of development. He thanked President Ruto for ending what he called years of favouritism toward one community.
Mt Kenya leaders reacted angrily. Wahome was the first to speak out, asking Duale to apologise. He has refused, saying former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has said similar things in the past without facing any consequences. Duale has also said he will not appear before the National Cohesion and Integration Commission unless Gachagua is summoned first too.
“Two wrongs do not make a right, and only a fool never changes their mind,” Wahome wrote on X. Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru and Githunguri MP Gathoni Wamuchomba have also criticised Duale over the remarks.
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Duale says his comments were misunderstood. He explained that the phrase he used, Waraabe la-tagis bartay, ka-ridis waa ku dhib, is an old Somali saying, and was not aimed at any one community.
“My message was about promoting unity and recognising that the government is serving all Kenyans equally regardless of tribe or religion,” he said. “I was referring to the difficulty of ending a system where one side had enjoyed advantages for a long time. I was not targeting or belittling any community. There is simply an attempt to deliberately misinterpret my remarks.”
A second video has since emerged, in which Duale is heard speaking in Somali:
“Sanadkaan, doorashadan, hadda firi, golaha wasiirada, sideed (8) waxaa weeye nimankaan dhagax-dhax, Soomali iyo xoola dhagada iyo kuddi ani kali ah ayaa fadhiya meesha. Waxay iska dhigaan ba wadanka inay leeyahiin. Hadda William Ruto waxaan dhahay nimankaan sideedaan, waa in nus la fiijiya.”
Translated, the remarks read: “In the Cabinet, eight of them are from Central. Among the Somalis and pastoralist communities, I am the only one in the Cabinet. They behave as though this country belongs to them. I have asked President William Ruto that half of the eight should be removed from the Cabinet so that even a son from Weytan (a clan in Mandera) can be given a position.”
Asked about the video, Duale denied it reflected what he actually said.
“The claims attributed to me are entirely inaccurate and do not reflect what I said or intended to communicate. My remarks have been deliberately misconstrued, and I therefore attach no importance to these fabricated interpretations. The purported translations are false, misleading and deliberately crafted to advance a political narrative associated with Mr Rigathi Gachagua, whom I have previously described as a chief inciter,” he said.
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