Defence Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has said he has nothing to apologise for his remarks that Kenyan Muslim women should wear hijab.
Duale was speaking in Garissa town on Wednesday after leading a tree-planting exercise at Najah Children's Orphanage.
The CS said that the Kenya Kwanza government was formed on the foundation of faith in God and everyone has the freedom to worship.
“I have a right to speak for the Muslim community because the government of William Ruto is a government that believes in God," Duale said.
"Both Christians and Muslims will be given the freedom to practice their religion because it is enshrined in the constitution.
“If you are not a Muslim or you are a Muslim and you don’t wear hijab, you have no problem with me because I am just giving moral advice as a Muslim leader to my community who elected me."
Duale’s remarks on the wearing of hijabs came under criticism on social media.
The Defence CS was allegedly quoted by some media houses saying, "If you have a problem with our girls, wives and sisters wearing Hijab and you are in Kenya, then you better leave this country,"
A hijab is a head-covering scarf that some Muslim women and girls wear in public. For many, the hijab signifies modesty and privacy.
This is not the first time that the CS is in the spotlight on the issue of wearing hijab for Muslim women.
In 2019, when he was the MP of Garissa Township, he cautioned schools in his constituency from banning students from wearing hijabs.
He was making reference to a case, where seven students from Thaara Secondary School in Murang'a had been sent home after they were found wearing hijabs.
"I want to warn headteachers that they should dare not stop our children from learning because of wearing a hijab. Anyone who does that will find it rough with us who come from the Muslim community," he said then.
