State House: Why Uhuru did not receive bodies of KDF soldiers
State House on Thursday sought to explain why President Uhuru Kenyatta did not travel to Nairobi to receive the wounded soldiers and the bodies of their colleagues.
State House spokesperson Manoah Esipisu said the military was responsible for honouring the dead soldiers.
Mr Esipisu said the President’s engagement in the ceremony would have given the Al-Shabaab militants attention.
Some Kenyans, through social media platforms, had called on the President to be at hand to receive the soldiers as a sign of concern for their families.
But on Thursday, while addressing the media at Mombasa State House, Mr Esipisu said the military command had made it clear that ceremonies that allow criminals to celebrate their hideous acts add no value to KDF morale and that the soldiers were in a state of combat.
He noted that the President was being briefed regularly on the El-Adde attack.
“Also, in line with military protocol, next of kin are being informed about their loved ones,” he added.
President Kenyatta is on Friday set to visit injured soldiers at the Defence Forces Memorial Hospital in Nairobi.
The Commander-in-Chief will also speak with families of the troops at the hospital.
