CS Balala now regrets his Go to hell comments, blames emotions

Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala has been forced to eat humble pie and apologise for his comments following a vicious backlash from the public.

Balala told those calling for his resignation following a botched wildlife translocation that led to the death of eleven rhinos to “Go to hell.”

“Nobody has appointed me, it’s only Uhuru Kenyatta who has appointed me, so they can go to hell, I don’t want to comment on rhinos now but I can tell them to go to hell,” said Balala.

“…Uhuru Kenyatta knows I have the capacity to run the wildlife docket and nobody is going to intimidate me.”

Speaking in Mombasa on Monday, Balala said he was only accountable to President Uhuru Kenyatta and no one else.

Appearing before the Parliamentary committee on Environment and Natural Resources, Balala apologized for the outburst blaming it on emotions.

“I regret I did that outburst, it was out of pain that I am being let down by my system,” said Balala at the start of the hearing.

“I do regret dragging the president’s name.”

The CS has been under pressure since a crash of 11 rhinos died after being relocated from Nairobi and Nakuru National Parks to the Tsavo East National Park.

Balala has since suspended six officials of the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) because of “unacceptable professional negligence.”