Waiguru demands apology from Duale over Ol Kalou ethnic remarks

In a statement posted on her Facebook page on Friday, Waiguru said it was dangerous to reduce the government's political challenges to tribal prejudice, particularly given the Kikuyu community's past support for the Kenya Kwanza administration.

"The ethnic profiling remarks made by CS Aden Duale in response to the Ol Kalou by-election are deeply regrettable. It is both overly simplistic and dangerous to reduce the government's political challenges to tribal prejudice, especially when this very Kikuyu community stood with us so overwhelmingly in the past," she said.

The governor said Duale's experience should have counselled restraint, adding that an apology was owed to Kenyans.

"Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale, given your stature and long experience in politics, such utterances are wholly unacceptable. An apology is not only necessary, it is owed to the people of Kenya," she said.

Waiguru's intervention is notable given her position as a senior Kenya Kwanza figure and a consistent ally of President William Ruto, whom she tagged in the post.

Her remarks add to mounting criticism of Duale over comments he made during a public event in Lafey, Mandera County. In a video widely circulated online, the CS is alleged to have compared the Somali and Kikuyu communities by population and recounted what he described as historical discrimination against Somalis under previous administrations, while crediting Ruto with ending those practices. Critics interpreted a section of the remarks as targeting the Kikuyu community.

Duale has denied any wrongdoing, saying his words were misquoted and drawn from a Somali proverb, and that his message was about inclusivity.

The controversy has since drawn bipartisan condemnation. During Thursday's Senate sitting, lawmakers from both the majority and minority sides faulted the remarks, warning that such rhetoric risked inflaming ethnic tensions ahead of the 2027 General Election.

The National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) has opened an investigation into the matter, saying the remarks, if substantiated, could contravene Article 33 of the Constitution and provisions of the National Cohesion and Integration Act.

The backlash comes against the backdrop of the ruling United Democratic Alliance's (UDA) loss in the July 16 Ol Kalou by-election, a result read in some quarters as a sign of waning government goodwill in parts of the Mt. Kenya region. Duale had earlier argued that the contest was essentially a fight between DCP and Jubilee rather than Kenya Kwanza, insisting the ruling coalition remained on course for 2027.

As she closed her statement, Waiguru urged leaders to temper their language as campaigns gather pace.

"As we move toward the General Election, let us embrace responsibility and sobriety in our words and actions. Kenya belongs to all of us, Kikuyus included, and our unity must never be undermined by careless rhetoric," she said.