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Cabinet Secretary for Roads and Transport Kipchumba Murkomen has defended himself after city lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi termed his remarks on Rwanda’s leadership as embarrassing.

During an interview with a local TV station, Murkomen, while defending the Kenya Kwanza leadership, said the country does not operate like Rwanda, where President Paul Kagame has sweeping powers.

The former Senate Majority Leader said that in Kenya, every decision must go through a proposal, Parliament, and then public participation.

“Then after you go through all the processes, you go through the court, and that is our country. You cannot compare the political situation in Rwanda and the size of the country with our country and our democracy.

“That is why we have to employ technology to deal with corruption and cartels,” Murkomen said during the interview.

These remarks irked Ahmednassir, who said top government officials must be taken through a crush course to teach them the responsibilities that come with their new constitutional offices.

In his response, Murkomen said he did not attack Rwanda and its president and added that he has always admired the East African country for its leadership.

“My friend Ahmednasir, I have expressed my admiration for Rwanda’s style of leadership, which has made it possible for them to build good infrastructure, including a new airport, and enforce discipline and order on their roads.

“It’s not just Rwanda; countries like the UAE, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia, among others, have a style of leadership that has delivered great success to their people because their leaders have the power to make firm decisions,” Murkomen said in a post on X.

The former Elgeiyo-Marakwet Senator also compared the styles of leadership between the two countries and said Rwanda’s style is yielding results as compared to Kenya’s, which has too many bureaucratic procedures.

“Our style of leadership has many positives, but it’s too bureaucratic and takes years to make a very simple decision, which ends up being very costly for our people.

“Instead of crying about Rwanda, please cry for your country. Help us deal with, for example, court orders that award a contractor Ksh10 billion for claims and interests for a contract worth Ksh2 billion or a road that stalls for 10 years because a competing bidder is still waiting for a decision from the court.

“Cry not for Rwanda; they are doing well. Cry for your country,” he added.