President Uhuru Kenyatta has appealed to Kenyans to keep united in order to develop their country, urging citizens to view diversity as strength to gain progress instead of misusing it for selfish purposes.
Uhuru made the remarks while speaking at the 39th Anniversary Memorial Service for Kenya’s first President, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta at St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Jogoo Road.
“Today we are celebrating years of Kenyans being able to govern themselves. Not that we have not made mistakes, we have, but I believe that as a country we have learnt from our mistakes,” said the President.
“Over the years we have entrenched our democracy. As we respect our cultural diversity let us also be able to respect our ability to hold different opinions. Different opinions do not mean enmity. We are still one people.”
Commenting on the recent election, President Kenyatta said Kenyans voted for the leaders they wanted and it was now time to unite for development.
“There is no single Kenyan who went to the ballot and made a mistake. Every Kenyan voted where he or she desired and that was their right. But their comes a time when a decision is made and we then move forward together as one people focused on one common vision, one common dream for our nation Kenya and future generations,” said the President.
The remarks come against the back drop of Raila Amolo Odinga, and his running mate, Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka moving to Supreme Court of Kenya on the basis of specific irregularities that they have identified in the recently concluded Kenyan presidential elections.
Uhuru said all leaders have an obligation to leave a positive impact on Kenya and its citizens just like the founding fathers of the country who always united for the sake of the nation.
President Kenyatta said Kenyans should view their diversity as a strength to gain progress and it should not be misused for selfish purposes.
Deputy President William Ruto, who also spoke at the memorial service, said Kenya’s politics has changed after the 2017 election where development and unity were the reasons that informed the choices Kenyans made.
He said many critics of the Jubilee Party, who had prophesied that campaigning on the platform of development will not make the party win over voters were proved wrong.
“The two most important issues that informed voters were development and unity. The election was contested on a development record,” said the President who was joined by family members at the service.
The President had earlier led a ceremony to lay a wreath at the Jomo Kenyatta Mausoleum within precincts of Parliament.
Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko also spoke at the memorial service.