Former President Uhuru Kenyatta urged opposition leaders to set aside personal ambitions and unite their political efforts, saying Kenyans increasingly wanted them to offer a shared alternative direction for the country.
“What happened in the past is in the past. What should concern Kenyans is where we are going,” he said.
Addressing Rigathi Gachagua, Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka, Eugene Wamalwa, and other leaders, Kenyatta said political leadership required compromise because only one person could hold the presidency at a time.
“As I keep telling my brothers here, Steve, Rigathi, Eugene, and others, unajua kiti inaweza kukaliwa na mtu mmoja. Pia mimi naskiza ground, sio ati masikio imefungwa,” he stated.
Kenyatta said his conversations with ordinary Kenyans had shown him that many wanted opposition leaders to unite.
“Ninapotembea ground kutafuta kauji, nasikia watu wakisema ni kama wameamua kwamba shida yao ni moja, na hiyo shida ni umoja wa hii watu,” he said.
“Watu wanataka kuona hawa viongozi wetu wakishikana, lakini nahisi wameamua mahali wanaenda. Viongozi wetu, mjipange na muungane mtimize vile Wakenya wanataka.”
He said he believed the leaders would respond to the public’s call while stressing that justice must guide any effort to unite the country.
“And I am sure that is what you will deliver for us, with justice. There can be no peace without justice,” he added.
Gachagua, meanwhile, used a story about a herder, a hyena, and missing sheep to describe his political experiences. Speaking in Kikuyu, the DCP leader said a trusted herder had allowed a hyena into a flock, after which two sheep disappeared.
Gachagua said people initially ignored warnings about the danger, but the situation later worsened, and he was sent home. He then asked whether others would help him remove the hyena without harming the rest of the flock.
“Uhuru has warned us about a hyena which would later eat the sheep. But I, Gachagua, objected,” Gachagua said.
“The leopard started eating small ones one by one… later, the animal jumped on Gachagua and removed one eye and started limping, heading to Wamunyoro,” he added.
He also praised Kenyatta’s recent political remarks, saying leaders should learn from past mistakes and heed the advice of experienced figures.
“Baba Ngina warned us: to err is not a mistake, but to repeat. Shall we heed him?” Gachagua asked.
“What is the moral of that story? Let us be listening and heeding to our leaders.”
Kalonzo on his part defended Kenyatta’s continued participation in national debate, saying retirement from public office did not take away his right to comment on the country’s future.
“We wanted Uhuru to stay out of this as we transform the country, but he is entitled to his opinion and still has the right to contribute to national discourse,” Kalonzo said.
The Wiper Party leader also called for greater political unity, saying Kenyans shared responsibility for addressing the country’s challenges.
“It is time for all of us to rescue the nation-state,” he said.
Kalonzo defended young people’s right to express their political views and criticised calls to shoot protesters in the legs.
“When somebody says, ‘Shoot Gen Z in the leg,’ that is a presidential fear. And this is why Kenyans are united in calling for one term,” he said.
“Young Kenyans have the right to express their political opinions. Next year, they will go to the ballot and say, ‘You wanted to shoot us in the legs; we will shoot you at the ballot.’”
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