Aden Duale on how he landed in Nairobi broke, now millionaire
After serving the residents of Garissa Township Constituency for more than two terms, Aden Duale now heads the executive arm of Government.
On Wednesday, the Cabinet Secretary nominee for Defence made his final statement at the National Assembly as he resigned.
He explained that his early life was not smooth as he people think and that he arrived in Nairobi some years back thanks to a kind neigbour who gave him a lift, since he did not have bus fare. Now, Duale is worth Sh851 million.
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When he appeared before the vetting committee, he said he owns 231 camels, flocks of goats, sheep, and a rental property.
“The first time I came to Nairobi, I got a lift because I could not even afford the bus fare. I was young, with big dreams of serving in government, in Cabinet. That journey from that first day to Nairobi to this day when my dream is on the cusp of being actualised took a long time,” Duale said.
He said that his dream sometimes looked like it would never happen.
“After the 2007 elections, I had hoped for a ministerial appointment. Instead, I got an assistant minister’s position. I worked hard at it. I excelled at it as some of the few Ranking Members who served in the Tenth Parliament can bear witness. It bore fruit.”
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In 2013, after making it again to the Parliament, he moved a step closer to actualizing his dream after being appointed the first Leader of the Majority Party in the Kenya National Assembly under the 2010 Constitution.
“I served with dedication, ensuring the supremacy of the Constitution was upheld. I delicately balanced the wishes of the Majority Party, the needs of my constituents, the national interest, the public interest, and parliamentary independence. Sometimes it worked. At other times, it did not.”
He was again appointed for the majority leadership position in the National assembly in 2017 after the Jubilee government won its second term in office.
However, his position hung in the balance following the 2018 Handshake between the former president Uhuru Kenyatta and the opposition leader Raila Odinga.
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“We walked that path in the tough years of the Covid-19 pandemic; the harrowing years of “The Handshake” and the crazy season of the BBI euphoria. I weathered the storm until June 2020, when I stood here, and told you that that season had come to an abrupt end.”
The Handshake and BBI storms did not make him change his position from supporting President Ruto’s bid, and now, he is among the people who have been rewarded for being loyal.
“He also stood by me. The currency of political hygiene is loyalty. Being principled…As many of my colleagues in here will tell you, we walked on fire. But we stood firm. We stood with the truth. We did the right thing. We did not abandon our friends. Eventually, the good guys won. I trust that we will now have the opportunity to right the wrongs.”
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