President Uhuru Kenyatta took a swipe at his Deputy William Ruto over his ambitious early campaigns and political bid- warning that it could be detrimental to him in the future. Speaking on Wednesday, December 1, during the inauguration of Nakuru as a city, Uhuru noted that politicians should not use divisive means to solicit votes from Kenyans. He pointed out that even if they got the votes they desired, it would be counter-intuitive as they would not be able to fulfill the promises they pledged as the country would have plunged into war.
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President Uhuru Kenyatta arrives at Parliament Buildings in Nairobi City County to deliver his 8th State of the Nation Address
“That’s why I’m telling Kenyan that let’s not take peace lightly because politicians think that if we can incite Kenyans in order to solicit votes, then we can get ahead, but the truth of the matter is that if you separate Kenyans, it will go nowhere as you will not be able to fulfill the promises you pledged to them,” Kenyatta stated.
During his speech, the President preached peace, calling on Kenyans to be wise when they will be selecting the next leaders in 2022 General Election. The Head of State also pointed out that the youth ought not to rush in leadership matters- comparing politics to an athletics event.
"I urge the youth to reduce your pace, leadership is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. The elderly will walk slowly and end up beating you.
“I know you get excited when politicians come and promise you a lot of things, but know that at the end of it all, peace must prevail,” Uhuru stated amidst cheer from the crowd.
The Head of State, while marking the historic day in Nakuru, pointed out that the day was a turning point.
Uhuru and his deputy have been at loggerheads after the 2017 General Election with their bad blood escalating in March 2018, when the President and Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga signed a cooperation pact and had a handshake at the footsteps of Harambee House. The hostilities further saw the ruling party crumble, with factions pulling in different directions, pushing Ruto to unveil the United Democratic Alliance (UDA).
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Ruto and his people broke their silence on that State of the Nation of Address delivered by President Uhuru Kenyatta in Parliament on Tuesday, November 30.
While addressing a political rally in Machakos County on Wednesday, December 1, Ruto ridiculed Uhuru’s sentiments on the success of the Big Four agenda projects, claiming that the head of state had admitted the project’s failure.
According to the DP, the Tuesday speech showed that Uhuru’s legacy projects had failed even though the President went to length to praise his administration’s success on various issues.
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President Uhuru Kenyatta (right) and his deputy William Ruto
“You heard the president yesterday stating that the plans we had for Big Four Agenda faced challenges midway and those challenges were caused by issues that can not be understood,” Ruto remarked.
The country’s second in command went ahead to state that they would ensure that the projects are revamped in 2022. He stated that his government would allocate Ksh100 billion job opportunities for the youth through the projects.
“In that Big Four, we had put issues to do with youth employment, agriculture, healthcare. I want to assure you that the first thing we will do next year is to put Ksh100 billion on housing, manufacturing, agro-processing, value addition so that we can create employment for these youth,” the DP stated.
Additionally, the DP stated the handshake between Uhuru and Raila led to the derailment of the development agenda of the Jubilee government.
However, in his address to the nation, Uhuru praised the Big Four Agenda stating that his administration had achieved great strides in its implementation. He added that some of the projects had received international recognition.
"My administration has been consistently working to fulfill by investing in health facilities, medical equipment, and human resources for health. Our success in this arena has been, lauded internationally. The Affordable Housing Programme has over the last four years; besides offering a decent roof over many more heads, spurred an increase in investments in the housing sector amounting to Ksh. 2.12 Trillion. These investments have yielded over 186,000 housing units; a remarkable 43% increase of housing units compared to the period 2013-2017,” Uhuru stated.
The sentiments by Ruto come after leaders allied to him criticised the president for his speech with many of the leaders stating that the speech was long and with details of projects that Jubilee had done in its first administration.
“Parliament should pass a law to set the maximum time that future Presidents will take in the State of the Nation Address. Like Winston Churchill said “a good speech should be like a woman’s skirt,” Senator Kipchimba Murkomen tweeted.