Aden Duale: Why I fell out with former President Uhuru

Defence CS Aden Duale during an interview with Spice FM on Thursday, May 11, 2023. [Dennis Kibuchi, Standard]

Defence Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has disclosed why he chose to support President William Ruto over former president Uhuru Kenyatta.

Duale, discussing his now viral book 'For The Record' on Wednesday, May 10, said Kenyatta did not deserve his loyalty.

The Defence CS claimed that Kenyatta has a track record of deserting people and political parties that have supported him.

"In 2006, Uhuru who was the leader of the opposition under ODM, left the Orange party to support Mwai Kibaki in the 2007 presidential election. His decision to join Kibaki led to his party, KANU which was part of the Opposition to collapse," Duale explained.

"The same Uhuru Kenyatta in 2022 crossed over to the Opposition leaving his party and his government, something that has never happened in the world."

In June 2022, Duale was dropped as the National Assembly Majority Leader due to what was perceived as disloyalty to Kenyatta.

According to him, Ruto has stood with him the longest and contributed to the growth of Garissa Town where he served as a Member of Parliament, and therefore choosing him over Kenyatta was quite easy.

"Ruto is very close to me and my family. I have walked a personal and political journey with him. I even became a majority leader thanks to his party, URP. When Uhuru called me, I told him I am ready to let go of the office of the leader of Majority and follow Ruto," the Defence CS explained.

"When a friend needs you, you must be there for them," he added.

On Wednesday night, he also said he would not be inviting the former president to the launch of his book.

Duale has been a huge supporter of Ruto and was his chief campaigner in the North during the 2022 General Election.

His loyalty to the sitting president has seen him rise to become Cabinet Secretary for Defence, a position he previously eyed during President Kibaki's tenure.