President Uhuru Kenyatta has underscored the need for all Kenyans to put the interests of the country above those of individuals regardless of political inclination, saying that way Kenya will achieve its development aspirations.
The President said Kenyans – whether in Government or in the Opposition – must know that they need to stand together despite their political differences to defend, protect and preserve the country’s sovereignty.
“I do hope that going forward Kenyans will begin to recognise that there are times when national interests supersede our own petty political differences. There are times when we must come together,” President Kenyatta said.
The President was speaking today at the PCEA Church of the Torch at Thogoto in Kiambu County during the funeral service of Dr Fredrick Lawrence Munyua Waiyaki.
Paying glowing tribute to the late Dr Waiyaki, President Kenyatta described him as a true Kenyan and a Pan-Africanist who believed strongly in the Pan Africanist ideal.
He urged leaders to emulate Dr Waiyaki by shelving petty political differences and promote national interests for the benefit of the country.
President Kenyatta expressed the need to take into account and capture the knowledge of experienced people like Dr Waiyaki for the benefit of the country.
The President pointed out that yesterday he directed the Commandant of the National Defence College to set aside two days every year to invite former presidents, foreign ministers, permanent secretaries, diplomats other leaders to share their experiences to help in addressing challenges facing the country.
“I invite my brother Raila Odinga after I defeat him in August and all those Kenyans who have had wide experience to share the problems and the challenges that the nation is facing and allow them to interrogate issues for the benefit of the country,” President Kenyatta said.
The President said he draws a lot of lessons and bases his Foreign Policy on the principles that Dr Munyu Waiyaki set out.
“That as a country, as an independent and sovereign nation, we must look for our progress and our prosperity towards our fellow brothers and sisters of the African continent,” the President said.
Mr Odinga eulogized Dr Waiyaki as a great Kenyan, Pan Africanist and a philosopher who stood for the people of Kenya.
“Dr Waiyaki stood firm in promoting the interests of Kenya and came up with a clear foreign policy that guided our interaction with the rest of the world,” Mr Odinga said.
Paying tribute to the late Dr Waiyaki, Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero assured the Waiyaki family that a statue will be erected along Chiromo Road in honour of the family’s patriarch, Waiyaki wa Hinga for his role in the country’s liberation struggle.
The service was also attended by First Lady Margaret Kenyatta, former First Lady Mama Ngina Kenyatta and Cabinet Secretaries Amina Mohamed and Eugene Wamalwa among other senior Government officials.
