Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has urged the Mt Kenya community not to vilify the Somali community over the remarks made by Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale about their community.

While speaking during a roadside rally in Embu County on Saturday, July 25, 2026, ahead of the launch of the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) offices in the county, the DCP leader told residents that they should treat Duale as an individual and should not extend their anger to the Somali community.

He said the Somali community has no problem with the Mt Kenya community and that it was not the community that made the remarks but Duale himself.

“They have not wronged us. I urge the people of Mt Kenya not to vilify the Somali community, because they have done nothing wrong. It is Duale who has wronged us. I am encouraged by how Somali professionals have condemned Duale over his remarks. Our relationship with the Somali community is permanent, and we should not allow one individual’s statements to divide us.”

Gachagua urged Mt Kenya residents to continue maintaining the cordial relationship they have enjoyed with the Somali community for many years, especially in business, and not allow Duale’s remarks to damage that relationship.

He further lauded Somali professionals and elders for condemning Duale over his remarks.

NCIC summons Duale.

This comes after the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) launched investigations into claims of ethnic incitement involving Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale following remarks circulating on social media.

In a press statement issued on Friday, July 24, 2026, the Commission said it had received a complaint regarding the remarks and that its Investigations Department had begun a thorough and impartial inquiry into the circumstances surrounding them.

“The National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) acknowledges receipt of a complaint regarding alleged utterances by Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale. Our Investigations Department is conducting a thorough and impartial inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the said utterances,” the Commission said.

The remarks surfaced in the aftermath of the Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election held on July 16, in which Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) candidate Sammy Douglas Kamau Waweru defeated the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidate.

Duale’s remarks

Videos of Duale’s comments circulated widely on social media, prompting public complaints to the Commission.

Speaking in Lafey, Mandera County, on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, Duale dismissed the opposition’s celebrations over the Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election, saying the constituency had not been held by the United Democratic Alliance (UDA). He noted that the late area MP had been elected on a Jubilee Party ticket, making it inaccurate to portray the outcome as a defeat for President William Ruto’s party.