Duale Says Al-Shabaab Not Greater Threat To Kenya than Corruption
Environment Cabinet Secretary nominee Aden Duale believes that corruption is a greater threat to Kenya’s development agenda than the Al-Shabaab terror group.
Duale made the remarks on Friday while appearing before Parliament’s Appointments Committee for Vetting, in response to a question from National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wa.
Ichung’wah asked Duale, the immediate former Defence CS, to explain how he plans to address the issue of forest land grabbing across the country if he is confirmed to the ministerial position by Parliament.
Duale, referring to his previous stint at the Defence Ministry, stated that corruption is central to Kenya’s issue of forest land grabbing.
Aden Duale: Corruption is more of a threat to our security than Al Shabaab because with Al Shabaab, you can identify them pic.twitter.com/a9gluzahvL
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) August 2, 2024
“During the last two years I was at the Ministry of Defence and had the privilege to serve as a member of the National Security Council,” he said.
“If I were asked whether Al-Shabaab or corruption poses a greater threat to Kenya’s national security, I would, without fear of contradiction, state that corruption is a more significant threat to our security and existence than Al-Shabaab.”
Al-Shabaab terrorists, according to Duale, are easily identified and dealt with by security agencies due to their distinct mode of operation, as opposed to forest land grabbers, who frequently remain anonymous and out of the public eye until petitions are filed in court.
“Al-Shabaab you can identify them, you know their location and capability but corruption is killing our country,” he said.
Furthermore, Duale stated that a significant number of forest land grabbers are public officials holding senior positions in government, and vowed to revoke their land titles if he is confirmed.
“I want to categorically say that if this House approves me, in the first 30 days, working with the Lands CS and government agencies, land titles belonging to big people in government, some of them Members of Parliament, will be revoked,” he said.
Duale added that if appointed, he will consolidate all forest land-grabbing petitions, separating genuine cases from non-genuine ones before reporting his findings to the Cabinet for further action.
“If the House approves me, forestry will be my business. Grabbers of forest land will be my business irrespective of who they are or whatever status they hold in society,” he said.
“Corruption is killing our country. If you sit here and you’ve illegally allocated forest land, be warned.”
Duale Says Al-Shabaab Not Greater Threat To Kenya than Corruption
