ODM party Communications Director Philip Etale has defended Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Security Dr Fred Matiang’i after he aborted the trip to Kapenguria in West Pokot over bad weather.
In a tweet on Monday, Etale said that the CS was right to obey the order of the pilot not to continue with the journey to the place as the death toll from the landslides rises.
Etale recounted how the late Member of Parliament Bonaya Godana met his death after the pilot ignored the dangers of bad weather. He noted that the CS could not risk his life when the pilot had shown that all is not well.
"I vividly remember when one of Kenya’s best brains and an astute debater in Parliament Dr. Bonaya Godana died in a copter crash alongside other leaders in Marsabit due to bad weather. Dr. Matiang’i has to respect the pilot’s decision #Disaster4PoliticalOpportunity," he tweeted.
"When people start saying that CS @FredMatiangi and CS @EugeneLWamalwa & team should have defied the pilot’s decision & proceeded to West Pokot in that bad weather, & something bad happens, what would they be saying now #Disaster4PoliticalOpportunity," he added.
The CS had said that he could not make it to the disaster-stricken area because of the hardships created by the weather. He also said that he was in the company of his Water Counterpart Eugene Wamalwa, Police IG Hillary Mutyambai, and Rift Valley Regional Coordinator George Natembeya.
Matiang'i has been receiving criticism from all corners. Senator Kipchumba Murkomen had hit out at the CS for allegedly faking that he cannot make it to the region when Kenyans are perishing.