Mudavadi blasts MPs over Taiwan trip plan during Ruto’s China visit, describes move as "reckless and malicious"
Mudavadi said the timing of the lawmakers' planned trip was not only provocative but risked undermining Kenya's delicate and strategically important diplomatic ties with Beijing.
Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has sharply criticised a group of Kenyan Members of Parliament over what he termed a "reckless and malicious" attempt to travel to Taiwan while President William Ruto was on a state visit to China.
Appearing before the Senate Committee on Security and Foreign Affairs on Tuesday, Mudavadi said the timing of the lawmakers' planned trip was not only provocative but risked undermining Kenya's delicate and strategically important diplomatic ties with Beijing.
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"We know people were pushing to have a delegation from Parliament go to Taiwan when the President of Kenya was visiting China for a state visit. It could have cost the country a lot," Mudavadi told senators.
The Foreign Minister said such actions, if carried out, could have triggered serious diplomatic fallout given China's firm stance on the One-China Policy — a policy President Ruto explicitly reaffirmed during his recent visit to Beijing.
That declaration confirmed Kenya's position of not recognising Taiwan as an independent state and instead supporting Beijing's claim over the island.
"These are matters that leaders must be alive to, because they carry serious and far-reaching implications for the country's welfare," he added.
Mudavadi suggested that the attempted visit may have been politically motivated to sabotage the success of President Ruto's trip.
He cited outcomes from the state visit, including the revival of the Standard Gauge Railway project extending to the Uganda border and the construction of a dual carriage highway to Malaba — both seen as significant economic wins for Kenya.
"There are some who didn't want the government to achieve anything in the visit," he said. "But once these projects materialise, we'll see increased economic activity in regions like Nyanza, Rift Valley, and Western."
He urged Parliament to act with patriotism and avoid actions that jeopardise foreign relations, especially with Kenya's major development partners. "Leaders must set a positive example for the youth," Mudavadi said.
He also revealed plans to grow Kenya's diplomatic assets abroad, similar to Uganda and Tanzania, by pursuing real estate investments through public-private partnerships.
These investments, he said, could generate income to support Kenya's foreign missions and ease the strain on the exchequer.
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