Defence Cabinet secretary Aden Duale’s farewell speech as he existed the legislature and joins the Executive was great. What a transition!
It goes without saying that Duale will be missed in parliament. An independent minded guy whose shoes can’t be filled and if it will ever happen, it will have to take a lot.
In his exit remarks, he left his now former colleagues with three key words of advice including always finding time for family, learning through their peers and always doing the right thing.
“There’s no use trying to embarrass your colleagues or act thoughtlessly. If you do so, you just lower the dignity of the whole House. Think about honour as you go about your business. In any case, do not forget that when protesters bring pigs and all manner of livestock to the parliamentary gates, they equally offend all of us. Just do the right thing, for the people, for the country, for the Legislature, and for yourself. As long as you keep your conscience clear, you will succeed. Make sure you can sleep at night after all the politics is done. And trust me, this is a House of politics. It can get nasty,” Duale said.
Garissa Township lost big on Wednesday evening when he tendered his resignation from the August House to work with President William Ruto but they have loaned the nation a good fortune by allowing their progressive MP to serve our nation. We can only hope his successor will be up to the task and serve Garissa Township constituency better.
Unlike many MPs and especially from the restive North, Aden Duale always knew why he was elected to parliament. This would have been his fourth term. He’s good on the bread and butter issues which hit ordinary people so hard. Duale always strived to provide a more honest, honourable and progressive political leadership than the predatory negotiated system we’ve developed in the north. He was also a man of the people.
He always bypassed the petty clan politics and got elected for four consecutive terms. Thanks to the cosmopolitan nature of his constituency. Garissa Township is a community within a constituency and not a slice of somewhere else like most seats in the North Eastern part of Kenya.
We can only pray that Garissa Township constituency gets the kind of leader it deserves, as Duale leaves for national duty. As he takes over the Defence ministry, we people of Northern Kenya thank President William Ruto for entrusting Duale with one of the most crucial dockets in a country.
Mr Ahmedkadar Kadar is a Blogger and Political Analyst.
