Garissa senator Abdulkadir Haji has hit back on criticism that greeted the imprintables utterances made by Dadaab member of parliament Farah Maalim during a rally in Eldoret.
Maalim was on Friday, January 10, 2025, captured on video issuing controversial remarks in Turbo during President Ruto’s working tour of the North Rift.
The controversial lawmaker was accorded a chance to address the gathering in one of the president’s stopovers, to which he spoke unprintables while defending the president against his critics.
The senator moved to defend the remarks during President William Ruto’s visit to Garisaa this Thursday, February 6, 2025.
Haji, who spoke to Swahili dialect said they will not accept being taken for fools by the critics of Maalim.
Besides admitting that Maalim’s utterances were an insult, Hajji, charged that it was fair game for the people who engaged in placing images of politicians in coffins.
“Hao majamaa wasitubebe kama mafala, tunafahamiana. Wasitubebe kama mafala. Wakati mzee wetu farah Maalim aliongea akatusi wengine, waliongea vibaya sana juu ya Farah Maalim. Acha tuwajulishe kitu moja. Mzee Maalim ako katika ile miaka anaweza kusema kitu anataka, na bado aheshimike,” the senator said.
“Hawa watu wanatukana watu kwa social media na kututukana Rais wa nchi hii na kuweka picha yake vibaya alafu wakitukanwa kidogo na Maalim wanateta wasitiubebe mafala hatutakubali io maneno,” he added.
Repercussion
The remarks, which coincided with President Ruto’s calls for a proper upbringing of the youth who he insisted were going wayward, elicited a series of responses with irked Kenyans taking to social media to condemn the utterances.
Political leaders also joined the public condemnation of Maalim, with former Vice President and ODM’s communication director Philip Etale amplifying the criticism of the long-serving MP and former deputy speaker of the National Assembly.
Philip Etale condemned the remarks terming Maalim as one lacking the moral compass to stand before the masses and address them.
Etale further stated that the words the MP chose to use at the rally belong to the 20th Century, noting that it is high time the lawmaker is denied the microphone during public events, by all means
Wiper Democratic Movement Party Leader Kalonzo Musyoka is among the leaders who criticised Maalim over his remarks.
“I condemn Farah Maalim’s remarks in the strongest terms possible. Today’s outrageous utterances I will advise him to resign and not wait to be thrown out. His actions were shameful,” Kalonzo said on Wednesday, 15 January.
As criticism over his remarks mounted, the MP was officially kicked out of the party after a National Executive Committee (NEC) has approved the decision.
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