Nairobi, Kenya- During the Pastoralist Leadership Summit in Wajir County on December 10, President William Ruto issued a harsh rebuke to critics of his government\u2019s livestock vaccination program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The initiative aims to vaccinate 22 million cattle and 50 million goats and sheep, aiming to enhance disease control and expand both domestic and international markets for Kenyan livestock products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ruto dismissed opposition to the program as \u201cmad, unreasonable, and possibly stupid,\u201d attributing the resistance to ignorance. \u201cAnyone opposing vaccination is simply mad, unreasonable, and possibly stupid. The vaccination is necessary because we need disease-free livestock,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also highlighted that the vaccines would be locally manufactured, ensuring Kenyan livestock products meet export standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, Ruto\u2019s remarks sparked heated discussions online, with many criticizing his choice of words and raising concerns about the program\u2019s necessity and transparency. Similarly, JACKSON TOCHI (@jacksontochi24)<\/strong> observed, \u201cBefore you declare everyone against you \u2018stupid,\u2019 maybe check if your own policies have a little more sense. Wisdom isn’t just about speaking; it\u2019s about listening too.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Skepticism over the vaccines\u2019 safety and efficacy also dominated discussions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Emmanuel Motelin (@EmmanuelMotelin)<\/strong> noted historical injustices regarding medical supplies in Africa, writing: \u201cDuring the last pandemic, western nations prioritized themselves, leaving Africa behind. Now we\u2019re expected to embrace this without question? What\u2019s the agenda?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Others, like Kairu (@CheJonnie)<\/strong>, raised practical concerns, asking, \u201cWhat diseases? I vaccinate my livestock yearly against lampiskin, foot and mouth, and ECF. What are we not being told?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Additionally, critics questioned the mandatory nature of the programme. <\/p>\n\n\n\n David Ngula (@david_ngula)<\/strong> called for a more inclusive approach: \u201cProtecting livestock health is important, but it must be balanced with the rights, traditions, and economic realities of farmers.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n In contrast, some supported vaccination but criticized the rollout and communication strategy. @Maina_GenZ<\/strong>humorously suggested testing vaccines on politicians first: \u201cVaccination should begin with those in Parliament and the Senate. If they survive, the vaccine is SAFE; if not, Kenya will be SAFE.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Ruto\u2019s remarks also drew backlash for perceived arrogance, with Roie (@Roienkatha)<\/strong> remarking, \u201cYou can take a villager from the village, but you can’t take the village from the villager.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Nairobi, Kenya- During the Pastoralist Leadership Summit in Wajir County on December 10, President William Ruto issued a harsh rebuke to critics of his government\u2019s livestock vaccination program. The initiative aims to vaccinate 22 million cattle and 50 million goats and sheep, aiming to enhance disease control and expand both domestic and international markets for Kenyan livestock products. Ruto dismissed opposition to the program as \u201cmad, unreasonable, and possibly stupid,\u201d attributing the resistance to ignorance. \u201cAnyone opposing vaccination is simply mad, unreasonable, and possibly stupid. The vaccination is necessary because we need disease-free livestock,\u201d he said. He also highlighted that the vaccines would be locally manufactured, ensuring Kenyan livestock products meet export standards. However, Ruto\u2019s remarks sparked heated discussions online, with many criticizing his choice of words and raising concerns about the program\u2019s necessity and transparency. One commentator,\u00a0Gitau Warigi (@GitauWarigi), wrote: \u201cThat’s the whole problem with Ruto’s governance style. Kifua. Mpende msipende. Governance is about consensus. Not edicts. If I don’t want to vaccinate my cows, it’s my choice.\u201d\u00a0 Similarly, JACKSON TOCHI (@jacksontochi24) observed, \u201cBefore you declare everyone against you \u2018stupid,\u2019 maybe check if your own policies have a little more sense. Wisdom isn’t just about speaking; it\u2019s about listening too.\u201d Skepticism over …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1885,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.moradiofm.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.moradiofm.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.moradiofm.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.moradiofm.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.moradiofm.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1907"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.moradiofm.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1907\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1908,"href":"https:\/\/news.moradiofm.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1907\/revisions\/1908"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.moradiofm.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.moradiofm.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.moradiofm.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.moradiofm.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
One commentator,\u00a0Gitau Warigi (@GitauWarigi)<\/strong>, wrote: \u201cThat’s the whole problem with Ruto’s governance style. Kifua. Mpende msipende. Governance is about consensus. Not edicts. If I don’t want to vaccinate my cows, it’s my choice.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n