Defence Cabinet Secretary nominee Aden Duale now says the media misquoted him on a promise to release a list of Al-Shabaab financiers in 2015.
Duale was reported in April 2015 pledging to expose the financiers and sympathisers of Al-Shabaab within 30 days after the militants attacked Garissa University and killed 148 people, most of them being students.
The remarks came back to haunt him when he appeared before a Committee on Appointments on Monday, October 17, 2022.
Duale cornered
National Assembly Minority Leader and Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi sought to know why the legislator is yet to release the names, seven years later.
“You were reported to have undertaken to name all those who were responsible for the financing of the Al-Shabaab terrorists. Indeed you gave yourself 30 days, I’m afraid Kenyans have been waiting for those names to date,” Wandayi said.
In response, Duale said the media misquoted him on the matter, adding that he has no capacity and constitutional mandate to investigate who are the financiers.
He insisted that his remarks were a mere call on the local community to help the government and security agencies to identify the financiers.
“We were urging the community to play their role. However, a local media decided to twist that and said Duale is going to name the financiers within 30 days,” Duale said.
“I have no capacity and I don’t have the constitutional mandate to investigate who are the financiers that is the work of the Director of the National Intelligence,” he added.
