Inside Uhuru’s 100 days without power
Kenya’s former president Uhuru Kenyatta has spent his first 100 days as a private citizen engaging in diplomatic duties entrusted on him by President William Ruto.
The former president has also been spotted on holiday in the Maasai Mara even as he completely steered away from local politics amid reports he will soon formally resign from the Azimio coalition which he chairs.
All this while, former First Lady Margaret Kenyatta has been missing behind his husband’s side, even at social events.
Moments after he assumed office, President Ruto announced his former boss would lead the region’s peace initiatives.
It turned out to be a strategic move, perhaps aimed at checking the outgoing president’s influence on the local and regional political scene.
“We met and engage. He appears more relaxed and free at the moment compared to his time in office when he would call you at midnight seeking answers to projects we were working,” explained former ICT Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru in a recent interview.
Ideally, the former Head of State has followed in the footsteps of his predecessors Daniel Moi and Mwai Kibaki (both deceased) who strategically exited the public life after handing over power.
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When President Moi left power in 2002, he set up the Moi African Institute to ‘promote security, stability and prosperity in Africa’ and ‘furtherance of Nyayo Philosophy of Peace, Love and Unity.’
However, Moi Africa Institute was not impactful in the region since the insiders in the Mwai Kibaki government were not keen to see him wield influence in the region.
Moreover, attempts by President Moi to have a say in local politics, especially in the Rift Valley, were thwarted by the emergence of Raila Odinga and William Ruto’s Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), party.
On the other hand, President Kibaki also did not have a busy schedule following his health status.
Since his retirement, Mr Kenyatta has been seen chairing various peace talks.
Mr Kenyatta is currently busy in the Democratic Republic of Congo as the regional bloc East African Community (EAC) facilitator and African Union peace envoy in a bid to end the war in the Goma region.
In the line of duty in his new post, the former president has had to convince the M23 rebels to put down their arms and foster peace. He’s also had to stamp his foot down on some occasions, including at a time during the Nairobi talks when he publicly hit out at the organizers for poorly managing the event at Safari Park in Nairobi.
He has also been involved in the peace talks in Ethiopia’s Tigray region.
He was recently spotted hanging out with the less privilaged at Children homes during the festive season.
Also read: One dead, several hospitalized in food poisoning at Royal Media Services