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The statement by Mr. Francis Atwoli, the Secretary General of the Central Organization of Trade Unions in Kenya (COTU), that President Uhuru Kenyatta is too young to leave office in 2022 after his second term ends, is in very bad taste. How young is President Uhuru Kenyatta in comparison with other young world leaders? President Barack Obama was born the same year President Uhuru Kenyatta was born (1961), yet he left office after he served his two terms in accordance with the US constitution. Kenya has a constitution which should be obeyed, respected and protected.
Why should Mr. Francis Atwoli, a man who should be relied upon for guidance, start misleading Kenyans?. I did not expect such a statement from Mr. Atwoli, an old friend of mine who I always remembered and admired, because of his good words of consolation to me at his Nakuru coffee plantation Union office and elsewhere in Nakuru and in Nairobi, wherever we met in those days, when I was in great agony and in great suffering from the persecution by the Moi regime. Mr. Francis Atwoli is a great leader who should provide the kind of leadership to be emulated by Kenyans.
President Uhuru Kenyatta should retire after his two terms ends, just like the previous two Presidents, President Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi and President Mwai Emilio Kibaki. Mr. Atwoli’s statements may be geared into changing the current Kenya constitution in order to pave way for life Presidency, which may lead to anarchy and dictatorship. Mr Atwoli should remember our bitter struggles to free Kenya from the one single Party state, when every single activity in Kenya was dictated upon by KANU.
Changing the Kenya constitution in order to allow President Uhuru Kenyatta to continue leading Kenyans, will automatically set a very dangerous precedence in the Kenya politics and in the governance of the Nation. President Uhuru Kenyatta can continue to provide advice and guidance to any would be Kenyan President in Kenya after he retires. That is what will be good for the Nation and it is what will be helpful to Kenyans.
Dr. Isaac Newton Kinity
Former Secretary General
Kenya Civil Servants Union.
Kenya Civil Servants Union.