Thursday, November 14, 2024 - Government Spokesperson Isaac Mwaura has come to the defence of Environmental Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale following his controversial remarks on Kenyans living in the informal settlements.
While addressing delegates at
the COP29 summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, Duale told the summit stakeholders
that Kenya's middle class is responsible for polluting the Nairobi River.
While reiterating his speech,
the Environment CS went ahead to compare the country's middle class with those
from the informal settlements who he lauded for their innovative waste management
strategies.
“Informal settlers are not the
ones polluting the Nairobi River. It is the middle class who pollutes it
because they have garbage. Those in the informal settlements don't have garbage
because they eat everything,” Duale told the summit stakeholders.
However, it did not take long
before Kenyans began to react to his statement with some online users terming
CS Duale's controversial remarks as derogatory.
Mwaura, while defending Duale, clarified that the minister’s remarks had been taken out of context and
that he only commended those living in the informal settlements for their creativity
in waste management.
According to Isaac Mwaura,
Duale's speech was a form of encouragement for middle-class Kenyans to
replicate the same effort displayed by those in the informal settlements to keep the
environment clean.
“The comment by Environment CS Aden Duale has been blown out of proportion. What he meant is that Kenyans living in the informal settlements have mastered the art of recycling and re-using waste materials creatively.
"The government encourages
the middle class and all Kenyans to do the same,” Mwaura stated.
The Kenyan DAILY POST
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