Health Cabinet Secretary (CS) Aden Duale has declared he will not apologise over the alleged ethnically divisive remarks he made that triggered widespread criticism, saying he stands by what he said.
Speaking in Marsabit on Saturday, July 25, 2026, Duale dismissed calls for a retraction over the remarks that have circulated widely on Social Media, stating that he has done nothing wrong.
“Don’t worry about what's circulating on social media. I am not going to apologise. Mimi ati nirudi nyuma kwa sababu mtu amesimama anaongea juu ya shares?” Duale said.
He maintained that there was no hate speech in his remarks, arguing that political criticism and comments about access to government opportunities should not be interpreted as ethnic attacks.
"Na hakuna hate speech mbaya kama kushinda mtu akisema wewe huna shares kwa hii serikali, huwezi kupata kazi,” Duale said.
Duale made the controversial remarks during a community empowerment event in Lafey Constituency, Mandera County, that were widely interpreted as suggesting that the Kikuyu community believed it should remain the dominant political and economic force in Kenya while other communities were denied the same opportunity to thrive.
The comments triggered condemnation from political leaders and sections of the public, who said they risked fuelling ethnic tensions ahead of the 2027 General Election.
The National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) has since opened investigations after receiving a formal complaint.
In a statement on Friday, NCIC confirmed that it had taken up the matter and was examining the circumstances surrounding the incident.
“Our Investigations Department is conducting a thorough and impartial inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the utterances,” the Commission said.
According to NCIC, if the allegations are substantiated, the remarks could contravene Article 33 of the Constitution and Sections 13 and 62 of the National Cohesion and Integration Act. NCIC also appealed to the public to remain calm and exercise restraint as investigations continue, saying due process would be followed in determining the outcome of the complaint.
"Leadership at every level carries a solemn duty to safeguard, rather than imperil, the unity of this nation,” the Commission said.
It added that the complaint demonstrated the importance of public vigilance in tackling hate speech, ethnic profiling and other forms of divisive political rhetoric, urging Kenyans to report such incidents to enable appropriate action.
“We encourage the public to continue to collaborate with the Commission, and bring such cases of divisive political rhetoric and ethnic profiling forward, so that necessary action is taken. Indeed, this is what responsibility calls upon us as Kenyans to do,” NCIC said.
