Aden Bare Duale.
First elected to Parliament in 2007, Aden Bare Duale is a man who has always been close to power for the near-two decades of his political career.
A founding member of major political parties in the country including the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), the United Republican Party (URP), the Jubilee Party and the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), power has often been an indefatigable shadow following the 55-year-old wherever he goes.
Having served as a ranking Member in Parliament, Majority Leader for eight years and Assistant Minister for Livestock in the coalition government, Mr Duale’s rise was dazzling.
For a man who was destined to be a secondary school teacher after graduating from Moi University with a Bachelor of Education degree in 1992, this was more than he could ever have asked for.
To show how big a person he is, his appointments even cause Somalia to sneeze. The country’s top brass is always quick to post congratulatory messages even if he is just nominated to a position.
On September 27, 2022, the father of five was nominated to the Defence docket in President William Ruto’s inaugural Cabinet. For perspective, a Defence Cabinet Secretary is key – and among the chosen few who are only a heartbeat away from the pulse of the nation. The individual sits in the National Security Council, Kenya’s apex security organ, and is the principal advisor to the President on matters relating to defence policies.
The Defence CS is also the chairperson of the Defence Council, the highest organ that manages defence affairs.
For a man who had declared that he would retire from politics with President Ruto, the elevation to a Defence minister was seen as the pinnacle of a chequered career.
Demotion?
It’s for this reason that news of his “demotion” to the Environment docket Tuesday came as a surprise to many.
Was history repeating itself for a man who was unceremoniously stripped of his majority leader office in 2020 after a fallout with former President Uhuru Kenyatta, a man he swore unwavering loyalty to? Or did he just fly too close to the sun?
In 2014, a year after assuming the position of National Assembly Majority Leader, the ex-Garissa Township MP declared his unwavering loyalty to Mr Kenyatta, and his deputy Dr Ruto in an attention-grabbing way. Mr Duale declared he would not hesitate to jump from the top of Kenyatta International Convention Centre if ordered by his then-boss and Dr Ruto.
“If Uhuru and Ruto told me to jump from the top of KICC and assure me that I will not break my leg, I will jump. I am so much indebted to these men. I can do anything for Ruto and Uhuru under the sun,” Mr Duale then said.
Interestingly, it’s at this very building that a Jubilee parliamentary group meeting would later decide to kick him out of the plum position.
Most powerful minister
A déjà vu of sorts is in the offing with the National Assembly -- a floor where he bid his former colleagues bye as he left the second arm of government to join the Executive as one of the most powerful ministers in Dr Ruto’s government. He will again appear before MPs next month for vetting for what is considered the less powerful Environment docket.
Should he be approved for the position, the development will mark a dramatic fall for a man who in 2016 boasted how “being a sycophant of the sitting president makes me have many sycophants under me”.
Mr Duale was first elected to Parliament in 2007 as ODM’s Dujis MP, and further served as Assistant Minister for Livestock in the Coalition Government in 2007.
In the lead-up to the 2013 elections, he aligned himself with Dr Ruto’s URP Party on whose ticket he secured re-election to Parliament in 2013 and 2017, and subsequent appointment to the plum House position that ranks second after the Speaker.
Following a fallout between Dr Ruto and Mr Kenyatta, Mr Duale followed the former to UDA and subsequently clinched a fourth term as MP. He would later resign as MP to join the government.
