Key moments defining Uhuru’s lowest points of Presidency

Uhuru Kenyatta took an oath of office as the President of the Republic of Kenya for the first time in April 2013 promising to unite a nation seemingly divided by rivalries marked by mistrust and open animosity.

This was telling in his inaugural speech in Kasarani, Nairobi, when he vowed, alongside his deputy William Ruto, to lead Kenyans on a path of peace and unity.

After the swearing-in, the pair dubbed “UhuRuto” soon hit the ground running. The appointment of the cabinet was followed by the laying bare of plans that were to power the economic growth and catapult Kenya into an inclusive and sustainable middle-income country.

Two months later, on June 1, the then youngest and fourth President of Kenya presided over his first-ever National holiday –  Madaraka Day, the same event in 2022 will be his last as the Head of State.

During the 2013 ceremony, an enthusiastic Kenyatta who was settling into the presidency rallied Kenyans to work toward building a peaceful and prosperous future.

“As we celebrate the past 50 years, therefore, we must now cast our sights over the next 50 years.  We must ask ourselves critical questions: how do we tackle the challenges we now face?” He posed in his speech

“Let me hasten to say that national unity is a key prerequisite for the realization of Kenya that we all desire.  Without unity, we shall neither progress nor stand. As we indicated in our Manifesto, the Jubilee Government believes in one Kenya; a Kenya where every citizen, wherever they live, will have the opportunity to succeed and prosper, free of discrimination.  I assure Kenyans that uniting our people is one of my most passionate goals for our country.  I dream of a Kenya where we will not only be proud of our diverse heritage and cultures but also where we will unite around our common aspirations as Kenyans,” he said.

He then gave an undertaking to ensure all Kenyans that “I will not rest until every Kenyan feels safe and secure,”

He may not have anticipated what followed a few months later, or so it seems now. His promise was, perhaps, put to test by an onslaught from armed groups.

With his second and final term coming to an end in August, we take a look at President Kenyatta’s trying times and what would perceivably go down as his lowest moments in the presidency.

On 21 September 2013, just four months into his presidency, a sunny Saturday afternoon ended in bloodshed when armed militants stormed Westgate Mall and killed at least 67 people and left hundreds injured.

The President had also suffered a personal loss after his nephew was confirmed to have been among the Kenyans killed in the attack. Then in June 2014, suspected al-Shabaab militants attacked hotels and a police station in Lamu.

As this was happening, the International Criminal Court was preparing to hear a case involving him and in October of that year, President Kenyatta became the first sitting head of state to stand trial at the Hague-based Court.

In the months to follow, the country witnessed two subsequent attacks on a bus and quarry in Mandera and Wajir targeting non-Muslims by suspected terrorists. 64 people died in both incidents sparking fear and anger all across Kenya.

The situation, and amid pressure from the public, forced the President to reconstitute his cabinet by sending then-Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Ole Lenku home alongside Police Inspector General David Kimaiyo.

He enlisted the services of the opposition when he nominated former army general, the late Joseph Nkaissery a member of ODM to head the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government.

The worst was yet to come, as President Kenyatta’s administration suffered yet another major attack on April 3, 2015. This time, the attack by al-Shabaab claimed 148 people, majority of who were students, at the Garissa University College.

Second term

In 2017, he won a second term in a hotly contested Presidential poll that ended up in court by after his closest challenger Raila Odinga of the National Super Alliance (NASA) launched a petition. The Supreme Court went on to annul the poll outcome accusing the country’s electoral IEBC of committing election irregularities in the poll. The court ordered a re-run in two months which Kenyatta won by a landslide after Raila boycotted the poll.

Their political differences notwithstanding, Uhuru and Raila closed tanks and buried the hatchet with the famous 2018 ‘handshake’ signifying a truce. This move was, however, not received well by some of the President’s supporters, including his deputy William Ruto.

And this was perhaps the beginning of the end of the ruling Jubilee Party as well as the ‘bromance’ that had characterized the Presidency.

Other than the public spat here and thereby political friends now turned enemies, the country had largely remained peaceful without a major incident. In 2019, however, the militants struck again, staging a sustained onslaught against Kenya in quick succession.

• January 15, 2019, Al-Shabaab operatives attacked the Dusit2D hotel complex in Nairobi, killing 21 people and wounding 28 others.
• February 16, 2019, media reported that Al Shabaab had killed three Christian teachers at a primary school in Wajir County.
• April 15, 2019, two Cuban doctors operating in Mandera town were abducted by suspected Al-Shabaab gunmen.
• June 15, 2019, an Improvised Explosive Device planted by Al Shabaab adherents destroyed a police vehicle, killing 11 police officers and injuring one in Wajir County.
• October 13, 2019, 11 General Service Unit (GSU) officers were killed in an IED attack in Garissa County.
• On December 6, 2019, gunmen attack a bus and kill six police officers and four civilians in Wajir County.

Unbowed

Despite everything, these darkest moments could not define his presidency. With every attack, he rallied Kenyans to unite and what followed was a demonstration of nationhood and patriotism by Kenyans who refused to bow to threats and intimidations from the enemy.

The attacks on Westgate, Garissa University, and DusitD2 Complex no longer carry painful memories but symbolize Kenya’s undying spirit.

Global pandemic

As the Covid-19 pandemic swept through the nations of the world, Kenya was not spared as it reported the first case on March 13th, 2020. The world order was disrupted and Kenya found itself in a crisis.

“Our families, our schools, our way of life, the way we worship, our economy, our businesses, our workers, every single Kenyan stands threatened by this invisible, relentless enemy that is COVID-19,” said the President.

For two years, Kenya has battled the invisible enemy who has so far claimed 5,651 lives while confirmed cases stand at 324,768.

Once again, under Kenyatta’s leadership, Kenya has shown enormous resilience to the Covid-19 shock and is on a trajectory recovery. Slightly over 18 million people are fully vaccinated against a target of 27 million.

Moi and Kibaki

President Kenyatta is the only Head of State who has witnessed the funerals of all other three Kenyan leaders since independence in 1963.

When his father, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta – the country’s founding President, died in 1978, he was a teenager.

He would later relive this painful memory during his second term when in 2020 and 2022, his predecessors and political mentors Daniel Moi and Mwai Kibaki died respectively.

On both occasions, President Kenyatta fought back tears as he led Kenyans in paying last their last respects to the two leaders who died at the age of 95 and 90 years respectively.

Bromance

It was evident ‘UhuRuto’ had a lot of chemistry between them. From giving joint State House addresses standing side by side to wearing matching shirts and ties.

Fast forward, the two leaders prefer to keep a distance, avoiding shaking hands and occasionally their political differences playing out publicly.

The extent of their differences was underlined by  President Kenyatta’s sentiments during the 2022 Labour Day when the head of state accused the DP of failing to execute his mandate as the President’s principal assistant and instead chose to politic.

But Ruto would hear none of it, telling the President he was to blame for the situation they found themselves in.

“I feel your pain. Those you assigned my responsibilities and ‘project’ mzee have let you down miserably,” Ruto said.

“They bungled our big4, killed our party, and wasted your 2nd term. Boss, am available. Just a phone call away. Sadly the last cabinet was two years ago,” he added via a tweet on Labour day.

Divine intervention

The two made a peace attempt at the annual National Prayer Breakfast held Friday 27 May 2022. Although they sat at different tables, they appeared to heed calls for peace and unity by the members of the clergy.

They briefly shook hands with Ruto going a notch higher to publicly apologize for failing to live up to his boss’s expectations.

June 1, 2022 celebrations may yet serve as the last national event to provide the two with a platform two share a podium, or is it. No one knows.

What is however not in contention is that the two did not end as they started.