Wahome to Duale: Withdraw remarks on Kikuyu community and apologize

Wahome wants her cabinet colleague to withdraw the statements and issue an unequivocal apology.

In a statement on X, Wahome faulted Duale for refusing to apologize despite growing calls for him to do so, saying his justification that others had made worse mistakes was unacceptable.

"Two wrongs don't make a right and only a fool who does not change his or her mind," Wahome wrote.

She argued that Duale's comments had "brought out the worst" in him and insisted that he should retract the remarks and "apologize profusely" to the community.

Wahome becomes the first serving Cabinet Secretary to publicly rebuke Duale over recent allegations of hate speech. 

Her comments come amid mounting criticism from political leaders and members of the public who have called on the Health CS to retract his statements, arguing they risk fueling ethnic tensions.

Leaders such as Wiper’s Kalonzo Musyoka, People’s Liberation Party (PLP) Martha Karua and a section of senators condemned Duale’s remarks calling for him to retract them, some even calling for his resignation.

However, Duale has defended the alleged remarks made in Mandera County, insisting they were taken out of context, even as the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) has launched investigations into allegations of ethnically inciteful comments.