Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has defended his recent public remarks that there are Tigers in Kenya saying he was thinking in his Kikuyu mother tongue when he invited Colombians to the country to see the endangered Big Cat species.
According to Gachagua, in his native Kikuyu language, tigers and leopards are more or less the same.
“As I was talking about the animals in this country, I talked about all the animals but you know when you go to Europe you do not become a European…some of us when we are speaking, we think in our mother tongue then we translate.
“In the Kikuyu nation where I come from, the leopard and the tiger are one and the same. When I was talking about the tiger I saw some critics here asking me where the tiger is. I am telling them the tiger and the leopard are the same where I come from,” he said.
The DP was speaking during a Red Cross gala dinner at Boma Hotel on Monday.
Gachagua humorously extended an invitation to everyone, quipping, “Feel free to come and witness our leopard or tiger in our national parks.”
Speaking in Bogota last week, Gachagua encouraged the business community in Colombia to consider investing in Kenya and experience the unique presence of elephants, rhinos, buffaloes, and tigers.
“Kenya is a very warm country, we are very welcoming people, very hospitable and we invite Colombian business people to come and invest in Kenya,” he said
“Again, as you come to invest in Kenya, we have many facilities for tourism. We have rare species of wildlife; the Elephant, Rhino, Buffalo, and Tiger.”
