Spokesperson Mwaura Defends CS Duale After Extreme Backlash Over Comments on Middle-class Kenyans
Mwaura clarified that Duale’s remarks, made during the COP29 summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, had been taken out of context.
According to his speech at the summit, Duale argued that Kenya’s middle class are a major source of pollution in Nairobi, particularly pollution of the Nairobi River.
“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.
The comments, however, elicited immediate online reactions, with some Kenyans calling out Duale for disregarding the lower-income communities.
In response, Mwaura stated that the minister’s intention was to recognise the resourcefulness of informal settlements in waste management and to encourage the middle class to adopt similar practices.
Mwaura said, “The comment by Environment CS Aden Duale has been blown out of proportion. What he meant is that Kenyans living in informal settlements have mastered the art of recycling and reusing waste materials creatively. The government encourages the middle class and all Kenyans to do the same.”