Cabinet Secretary of Health in Kenya Aden Duale has defended the right of the Somali community to reside in any part of Kenya, dismissing critics who claim that Northeastern leaders have abandoned their ancestral home to build in the capital, Nairobi.

Speaking on Wednesday on a live TV interview, Duale addressed a growing narrative that Northeastern leaders had shifted their focus and investments entirely towards Nairobi at the expense of their home counties, Garissa, Wajir, and Mandera.

Responding to questions about the significant presence of the Somali community in Nairobi’s real estate and commercial sectors, the cabinet secretary labeled such scrutiny a form of ethnic profiling that has no place in modern Kenya.

“The Somali community is part and parcel of this nation; we are not guests; we are citizens by birth and by right. The constitution of Kenya allows any citizen to live and invest in any of the 47 counties,” Duale said.

Minister Duale argued that when a Somali leader or businessman builds a mall or a residential complex in Nairobi, they are not abandoning their hometown, but they are investing in the economic hub of the country.

He rejected the idea and termed it as a double standard that was applied to different communities.

“Why has no one asked why leaders from central Kenya or Nyanza has a home in Nairobi? we must stop this ethnic profiling that treats some Kenyans as guest in their own capital,” said Minister Duale

The minister, who also served as Garissa Township member of parliament, highlighted that the northeastern region has lagged behind in development because of historical marginalization that favored high-potential areas and noted that the current administration under the leadership of President William Ruto is working to transform.