Duale announces plan to unite marginalised communities in push for Ruto’s re-election

Health CS Aden Duale speaking in Nanigi./STEPHEN ASTARIKO

Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has announced plans to rally communities he describes as historically marginalised into a political coalition to consolidate their support for President William Ruto’s re-election in the 2027 General Election.

Duale said the coalition will bring together pastoralist communities, Muslims and regions historically left behind in development.

The CS spoke on Saturday in Nanigi, where he led a fundraiser to support the construction of madrasas, turning the event into a political platform to defend the President’s record and rally support for his administration ahead of the next elections.

Duale, one of the most senior officials from North Eastern Kenya in the Kenya Kwanza administration and a prominent Muslim leader, said the proposed Coalition of the Marginalised would unite pastoralist communities, Muslims and residents of regions including Nyanza, Western and the Coast to pursue what he termed an equitable development agenda.

He said the initiative would seek to bring together communities that have historically felt excluded from national development and mobilise their votes behind Ruto’s bid for a second term.

“We are going to form a coalition of the marginalised — those who have been marginalised for decades. We are going to unite communities from Nyanza, Western, the Coast and the entire pastoralist region, as well as Muslims. We will call it the Coalition of the Marginalised,” Duale said.

Duale argued that Ruto’s commitment to equitable distribution of national resources, rather than concentrating development in traditionally influential regions, had become a major source of friction between the President and his political opponents.

“The only problem President Ruto is accused of having is that he has brought equity to the country and ensured that all parts of Kenya are treated equally. Development projects are being distributed fairly, and the national cake is reaching every corner of the country. That has been his biggest problem with those opposing him,” he said.

The CS said the proposed coalition would provide a common political platform for communities whose development concerns, he argued, had not received adequate attention under successive administrations.

“Our aim in uniting is simple: to ensure that we put all our votes in one basket and unanimously vote for President Ruto’s re-election,” he said.

Duale’s remarks place the historical marginalisation of northern Kenya and other historically underserved regions at the centre of the administration’s emerging re-election narrative.

For decades, communities in North Eastern Kenya have cited limited infrastructure, inadequate access to public services, insecurity and fewer economic opportunities as some of the consequences of their historical exclusion from national development.

Duale said the region’s experience of marginalisation was rooted in policies adopted in the years following independence, including Sessional Paper No 10 of 1965, which shaped national development priorities and has long been criticised for concentrating investment in areas considered to have greater economic potential.

He also cited land acquisition and resettlement arrangements associated with the administration of Kenya’s founding President, the late Jomo Kenyatta, as well as the Africanisation of businesses, which he argued had contributed to economic exclusion.

“In North Eastern Kenya, we were marginalised through Sessional Paper No. 10 of 1965, as well as through the buying, resettlement and land-buying companies orchestrated under the late founding President Jomo Kenyatta,” Duale said.

“We were also marginalised through the policy of Africanisation of businesses. The intention was to ensure that only one group benefited economically.”

The CS said the current administration had begun changing that historical narrative by directing development projects and public investment towards areas that had previously lagged behind.

He cited progress in infrastructure, education, healthcare, water provision and electricity connectivity, alongside the employment of teachers, as evidence of the government’s commitment to addressing regional inequalities.

Duale maintained that the development agenda was not confined to North Eastern Kenya, saying similar efforts were being pursued in other historically underserved regions, including Nyanza.

“It is not only in North Eastern Kenya that we are witnessing an acceleration of development projects. We are seeing progress in infrastructure, education, health, water and other sectors. The same is happening in other parts of the country, including Nyanza,” he said.

He said the changes had restored a sense of dignity among communities that had long felt excluded from the country’s political and economic mainstream.

“So, when some of us raise our voices and push strongly for President Ruto’s second term, it is not because we do not know what we are doing. He has restored our dignity as a region and as Muslims,” Duale said.

Lafey MP Mohamed Abdikheir backed Duale’s position, saying northern Kenya had compelling reasons to support the President because of what he described as his commitment to addressing the region’s historical development challenges.

Abdikheir said years of neglect had left northern Kenya behind other parts of the country in infrastructure, public services and economic opportunities, but argued that the current administration was changing that situation.

“As a region, we have no apologies for supporting President Ruto. Since independence, we have not had a head of state who has committed himself to uplifting this region in the manner President Ruto has done,” he said.

The MP urged residents who had attained the age of 18 to acquire national identity cards and register as voters, saying their participation would be critical in determining the country’s leadership in 2027.

“My plea to our people, the residents of this region, is please let us do what is required of us as patriotic Kenyans. We have to ensure that we participate in the democratic exercise of electing our leaders next year. That will only be possible if we acquire the necessary documents,” Abdikheir said.

He called on residents to translate their appreciation for the government into electoral support.

“We have to show our appreciation to President Ruto by voting for him so that he gets as many votes that will ensure that he is re-elected for a second term in office,” he said.

The fundraiser was attended by Ijara MP Abdi Ali, Garissa Township MP Dekow Mohamed and former Garissa governor Ali Korane, among other leaders.

Health CS Aden Duale leading a fund drive for Islamic institutions in Nanigi. /STEPHEN ASTARIKO

Leaders during the funds drive in Nanigi. /STEPHEN ASTARIKOLafey MP Mohamed Abdikheir speaking. /STEPHEN ASTARIKOFormer Garissa governor Ali Korane speaking./STEPHEN ASTARIKO