FELLOW KENYANS, HAPPY JAMHURI DAY!
Today, we commemorate 57 years of our independence and
nationhood as a People.
On this day, in 1963; the Union Jack of Britain came down and
we hoisted our beautiful National Flag. On the same day in 1964,
the Dominion of Kenya became an independent Republic. And
that same night, the British Governor of Kenya departed from our
land, marking the end of 78 years of colonial rule. On that
memorable day, the journey to create, build and nurture a nation
commenced.
As we celebrate our independence day today, we must also pay
allegiance to the two symbols of our nationhood. Both our
National Anthem and the National Flag were gifted to us by the
Founding Fathers as representations of our nationhood.
The National Anthem was composed from a Pokomo lullaby
as a prayer by an expectant nation; a celebration of the fertility of
our land; and a call to action whenever anything Kenyan is
threatened. And this is why each time the nation gathers, our
opening act is always the singing of this beautiful anthem.
On its part, the National Flag is a symbol of our national
wounds and the scars we bear from the struggle we started 100
years ago in the 1920s.
It is a picture of the battles we fought; those we won and those
we lost.
It is a picture of the dreams our Founding Fathers held
dear and the price they had to pay for us to realize them.
Let the record reflect, therefore, that our National Flag is not
just a piece of cloth decorated with ink; or a sentimental display
of colours without history.
Our National Flag is, indeed, a
historical record of our nationhood, its origins and the aspirations
of our Founding Fathers.
Each time we salute and pay allegiance to the Black Band of
our flag, we must do it as a mark of our dignity. Indeed, the
struggle for independence was primarily a struggle for dignity. And dignity was not about skin colour; it was about a state of
mind.
In their documented memoires, our Founding Fathers did not
define ‘blackness’ in reference to skin colour. They defined
‘blackness’ as an attitude. An attitude that rejected the elevation
of one race over another.
A state of mind that scorned at the thought that one human
being could be termed better than the other because of race, class
or gender. And this is the mantra of blackness that defines us as a
people to-date; unifying us in our ethnic, racial, religious and
cultural diversity.
We also pay homage to the Red Band of our National Flag. It
symbolizes the boldness of those who stepped into the arena, did
a duty to country, and paid the ultimate price. Today, we salute
and acclaim those Heroes of our liberation that died to give us this
Jamhuri Day.
Similarly, we salute and hail our fallen Heroes in the defence
and security forces who have paid the ultimate price in order to
preserve our peace, sovereignty and way of life.
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May the God of all creation bless the departed souls of all our
Heroes.
May He give their families and descendants comfort and
pride, knowing that the sacrifices they made are a badge of honour
in the making of our nationhood.
We salute and pay allegiance to the Green Band of our National
Flag.
It is a prayer made by our Founding Fathers; that the future
of our nation will always have plenty within its borders. And that
at all times, Kenya will be a bountiful, fruitful and fertile nation.
But fundamentally, the Green Band on our flag is an instruction
from our Founding Fathers for each generation to hold in trust the
bounties of our nation and to leave a just inheritance for our
children and their children.
On this day, we also salute and pay homage to the two Bands
of White on our National Flag. They are the glue that holds all the
other bands together, symbolizing our unity and oneness. They
remind us that, although we are 44 separate nations, we are one
people; a rainbow nation of many colours.
The two Bands of White on our National Flag are therefore a
symbol of our nationhood. They remind us that whenever we
hoist the National Flag, we must not see the Flag; we must only
see the nation of many colours.
But our National Flag has one more image: a shield and two
spears mounted in the middle. It is a symbol that instructs us to
stand firm and defend our Homeland of Kenya, the “Heritage of
Splendor”, against any threats internally and externally.
Fellow Kenyans,
Today, the day we hoisted our independence flag 57 years ago,
we are called upon to reflect on the extent to which we have
delivered on the dreams and aspirations of our Founding Fathers.
They taught us that our nation is not a finished work; it will
always be a work in progress.
And our nationhood is not a static
idea frozen in time. It is an evolving project that needs constant
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re-engineering. Every so often, we are called to re-imagine it and
adjust it to a higher ideal.
To do this, we cannot be comfortable with the allure of the
status quo. If, indeed, our nationhood is good, we must strive to
make it better. And when it gets better, our children must not rest
until they move it from better to best.
The making of our nation is not a destination; it is a journey.
Each generation must travel this journey and leave Kenya better
than they found it. And our Founding Fathers taught us this by
example.
In 1965, the independence government led by Mzee Jomo
Kenyatta put its dreams on paper. They called it Sessional Paper
No. 10 on “African Socialism and its Application to Planning in
Kenya”.
This blueprint inspired Sessional Paper No. 1 of 1986 on
“Economic Management for Renewed Growth” under Mzee
Daniel arap Moi.
In June 2003, Mzee Mwai Kibaki improved on the previous
development blueprints and came up with a national strategy
paper known as Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth and
Employment Creation.
This strategy was transitional running
between 2003 and 2007. And on June 10th 2008, it gave birth to
the Vision 2030.
Each generation of leaders in this process understood that
Kenya was a work in progress. They built and improved on the
platforms left by the previous leader. They had to make better
what others had done.
And this is the logic behind the Big Four. It is not a project; it
is a process. It is a framework, which I have used to organize the
delivery of Government services in order to improve on what
previous Presidents did.
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And as I explained during my State of the Nation Address on
November 12th 2020, the Big Four builds on the intentions of
previous administrations.
It singles out the intents that run
through our history, and are relevant today. It focuses on four
intents of our liberation struggle and the aspirations of our
Founding Fathers.
The first one is liberating our people from the poverty of
dignity caused by inadequate services.
The second is transitioning
our people, especially the youth, from being ‘earners of wages’ to
‘owners of capital’ no matter how rudimentary. And this is why
I am investing in the Boda Boda movement whose plan is to build
capital through a ritual of daily savings they have called Kidogo
Kidogo.
The third is jump-starting the shift from being a country
of net consumption to one of net production. And the fourth is
building a holistic base of human capital that is food secure and
health assured.
On liberating our people from the poverty of dignity and
making them health assured, a good example is the work of the
Nairobi Metropolitan Services.
During one of my inspection visit
to Mukuru kwa Reuben, an informal settlement in Nairobi, I was
saddened to learn that 500,000 people were being served by a
private health facility, which had only 8 maternity beds.
A woman giving birth in this facility cannot be admitted for
more than two hours. In fact, after giving birth, she has to get out
in one or two hours in order to give way for other patients. The
only time she can stay for a day is if she has complications and
cannot be transferred immediately to a better facility.
If this is
not poverty of dignity, what is it?
To resolve this embarrassment, I instructed the Nairobi
Metropolitan Services to build 24 level 2 and level 3 hospitals in
the informal settlements. I note with satisfaction that NMS is on
course to deliver the facilities by end of January, 2021. The idea
is to take health services as close to the people as is possible.
And
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with the completion of the 24 new hospitals, we will have
increased the bed capacity in Nairobi’s informal settlements by
280.
But nationally, and as I said during my 24th September, 2020
Address to the Nation on COVID-19, we have done more.
When
we were afflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic in March this year,
we had only 8 infectious diseases ICU beds countrywide. Seven
days after the first COVID case was discovered, we were able to
increase this bed capacity to 60.
Today, we have 827 infectious
diseases ICU beds up from 8 beds in March this year.
During my Twelfth Address on Coronavirus Pandemic on 24th
September, 2020, we had 7,411 isolation beds nationally. And
this was achieved in only six months.
But three months later, in
December, 2020, this number has tripled and now stands at
20,910 isolation beds. These achievements cannot be gainsaid.
In fact, in a very short period, we have installed medical
equipment never seen in this country since independence.
And
by March 2021, once the K.U. Hospital’s Integrated Molecular
Imaging Centre is completed, there will no longer be need for any
Kenyan to travel abroad in search of specialized Cancer
Treatment. Our capacity will handle most medical conditions
treated abroad.
Coupled with the expanded county healthcare infrastructure,
we intend to use our new capacity to promote medical tourism
from neighbouring countries, and to roll out Universal Healthcare
under the Big Four Programme.
Although we have some challenges in the health sector, we
must remember that our endeavours are a work in progress.
Building a robust healthcare infrastructure at the county level has
to go hand in hand with protecting our health workers as well.
And my Government is working on it.
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I will never tire of thanking our healthcare workers for their
dedication and selflessness, amid the greatest public health
challenge of the modern era. Their professionalism, excellence,
unfailing commitment to their sacred oath and their sacrifices,
must be reciprocated by Kenyans acting responsibly amid the
COVID-19 Pandemic.
On creating a robust population of ‘Owners of Capital’ who are
more than the ‘Earners of Wages’, my Administration has made
its attempts, especially during the COVID-19 crisis.
We began by cushioning small-scale businesses through fiscal
and monetary policy measures. These include the implementation
of the Eight Point Economic Stimulus Programme of KSh. 56.6
billion.
I unveiled this as part of the national response to the
COVID-19 Pandemic. And, together with other fiscal policy
measures, it has mitigated the adverse economic effects of the
pandemic on businesses.
These interventions bolstered purchasing power and increased
earnings. Similarly, businesses were saved by our reduction of
the corporate tax rate; incentivizing them to retain their staff
establishment. But fundamentally, these fiscal measures, coupled
with monetary policy measures have had a positive impact on
businesses in many ways.
Lowering of Central Bank rate from 8.25% to 7.0% has made
credit easily available to businesses. And, the lowering of the cash
reserve ratio from 5.25% to 4.25% has provided extra liquidity to
the banking sector. This has availed liquidity to the tune of KSh.
35 billion, further enhancing greater access to credit.
The dividends of these monetary policy interventions are
manifest in the general reduction in the cost of credit, which now
stands at its lowest rate at 11.7% compared to 1980 when it was
12%, shuttering a forty-year record.
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Further, my Administration recognizes the significant
contributions made by micro, small and medium-sized businesses
enterprises towards our economy; with the sector accounting for
nearly 80% of our country’s employment and output.
It is, however, evident that lack of adequate and affordable
credit is a significant encumbrance for MSMEs.
Due to their
inability to raise collateral, it has been difficult for these
enterprises to expand and realize their full potential.
Aware of this fact, and working together with our commercial
banks, the Government has established a KSh. 100 Billion Credit
Guarantee Scheme to provide partial mitigation of the default
risks associated with micro, small and medium-sized business
enterprises.
The aim of this initiative is to enable these business
enterprises access affordable credit and protect the jobs they have
created.
To share in the benefits of the shared risk between the
Government and the participating banks, I urge the partnering
financial institutions to levy interest at single digit on all facilities
extended to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises under the
Credit Guarantee Scheme.
Additionally, and to make it easier for our micro and small
traders to engage in international trade, we have established a
dedicated Transit Shed at the Kenya Railways, Nairobi; dedicated
as the clearing point for cargo imported specifically by micro and
small traders. This will not only eliminate delays in clearing of
goods which lead to higher costs, but will also allow easier push
to market as well as joint importations. With these interventions,
micro and small traders will realize higher turnovers and have an
even greater opportunity to thrive and expand.
Fellow Kenyans,
Being mindful of the benefits of devolution to our people, my
Administration has strived to empower the county governments.
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Indeed, since the dawn of devolution in 2013, over KSh. 2.1
trillion has been disbursed to the county Governments in form of
equitable share from revenues raised nationally, conditional
allocations from the National Government share of revenue, as
well as from proceeds of loans and grants from development
partners. All these interventions have not only strengthened
devolution, but also served to build local business enterprises.
Regarding the Big Four aspiration of shifting Kenya from a net
consumer to a net producer as aspired by our Founding Fathers,
we have made some good progress.
To ensure that Kenyan exports continue to have access to the
foreign markets, as a Government, we have successfully
concluded negotiations for an Economic Partnership Agreement
with United Kingdom that will secure long-term duty free and
quota-free access to the UK for our products.
To expand the frontiers and opportunities for our people,
negotiations are also underway for a Free Trade Agreement with
the United State of America. Once concluded, that Free Trade
Agreement will be the first between US and a country in Sub-Saharan Africa. And, as testament that this is a shift in a profitable
direction, earnings from Tea from January 2020 to October 2020
placed Kenya as the 3rd largest tea producer in the world. As we
seek to diversify our agricultural portfolio, we have also
supported new cash crops such as avocado; where we are now the
7th largest producer globally and the top country on the continent.
But, we cannot achieve all of this if we do not have a holistic
base of human capital. You cannot build a nation without
building its people first. A holistic nation is one that is secure in
its basic needs. Food security, safe drinking water, decent
housing and quality education are basic needs that are also critical
planks of the Big Four.
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On food security, the country is inching slowly towards
sufficiency. As of this year, maize production is projected to rise
by 12.7% while that of potatoes is projected to go up by 19.8%.
Regarding safe drinking water, the record is even better. When
we started the Nairobi Metropolitan Services, for instance, we
learnt that each household in the informal settlements consumes
an average of 80 litres of water per day at the average price of
KSh. 40 per day.
Water consumption alone represented about
10% of the daily earnings of the settlement dwellers.
Then, I instructed the Nairobi Metropolitan Services to sink 93
boreholes in 100 days so that we can provide free water to the
settlement dwellers. The demand for this service pushed us to
sink an extra 100 boreholes, bringing our total boreholes in the
Nairobi Metropolitan area to 193.
These boreholes have a capacity to produce 41 million litres of
water a day and are currently serving 2 million informal
settlement dwellers with free water.
Collectively, this saves them
millions of shillings liberating their finances for better use. And
this is how transformative the work of NMS has been to the
residents of our nation’s capital.
But nationally, we are on course to foster access to safe water
and by 2021, the national water coverage will stand at 80% while
sewerage coverage will be at 40%.
In 2021, the area under
irrigation will be 450,000 acres; significantly boosting our
agricultural output.
Regarding land and housing, yesterday, I assented into law the
Sectional Properties Bill, which seeks to deepen the reforms we
are undertaking in the lands sector and thus improving the
vibrancy of land as a factor of prosperity and development in
Kenya.
By promoting sectional ownership, we are empowering more
Kenyans to own homes by reducing the unit cost of housing,
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especially in our urban areas where land pressures are highest,
further fueling a sector that continues to redefine the skyline of
our cities and townships across the country.
On education as a critical plank of a holistic population, we
have done a lot. But because of the challenges of COVID-19, we
have been slowed down. And that is why the Ministry of
Education, in consultation with the Ministry of Health, has
developed sector-specific protocols and guidelines to facilitate
the re-opening of all learning institutions.
We remain on course for the resumption of learning in all
classes effective 4th January, 2021; with the safety of our young
learners being our top priority. In that regard, and in line with the
policy of the Government on universal and compulsory basic
education for all children of up to 18 years, all parents and
guardians are required to facilitate their children to resume
learning in January 2021.
To ensure compliance with this directive, and to guarantee that
no child is left behind, I hereby order and direct as follows:
(i) That the Ministry of Interior and Co-ordination of
National Government shall, through all Chiefs and
Assistant Chiefs, account for all children within the
jurisdiction of those officers and also ensure that all
children report back to school in January 2021;
(ii) That the Ministry of Education shall receive reports from
all primary and secondary schools in Kenya, regardless of
the system of education they deliver, on the identity and
details of any child or children who have not reported back
to school as directed; and
(iii) That the Ministry of Education shall re-issue and publicize
the Education Policy on School Re-Entry; so as to
facilitate the re-admission of all those who may not be
able to report back due to pregnancy.
Fellow Kenyans,
I have spoken about our history and our nationhood; and, I have
given an account of where we are today. But now, you must allow
me to talk about the future. The future of any nation is built on its
history. And, this is so because history is a faithful compass to the
future. As one statesman said, “…the further backward we look,
the further forward we are likely to see”.
When the Founding Fathers put together our nation, they did it
by entering into a nationalist covenant. This covenant was an
unwritten understanding on what they believed to be good for
Kenya.
It was a dream and a prayer; but above all, it was the
embodiment of the spirit of the nation. It bound one to all and all
to one. And, it demanded that all of us pay duty and allegiance to
this informal agreement.
Then at Lancaster House, in the 1960s, this unwritten covenant
between the 44 nations of Kenya was put on paper as our
independence Constitution.
But our Founding Fathers cautioned
us that, what was put on paper was the Letter of the Constitution.
It must never become more important than the Spirit behind the
Constitution. They further emphasized that, the Spirit of our
Constitution was Justice. And that Justice was also the Spirit of
God. The guiding light for our nationhood must, therefore always
remain the Spirit of Justice. And, when the Spirit behind our
Constitution disagrees with the Letter used to write it, the Letter
must be changed.
Our Founding Fathers believed that Kenya will become a great
nation if we serve only the Spirit behind our Constitution. If we
become prisoners to the unbending and time-bound Letter of the
Constitution, we will invite discord and chaos in the midst of our
nation. And this is because Kenyans are not made to serve the
Constitution. The Constitution is made to serve Kenyans.
Fellow Kenyans,
If change is indeed inevitable at appointed intervals, how shall
we discern the moments that call for change? How shall we know
that our nationhood is in crisis and that the Letter of our
Constitution is out of touch with the Spirit of our Nation?
We must go back to Lessons from Lancaster and use history as
our compass.
Our Founding Fathers taught us to discern such
moments. They taught us that, you know you have a
constitutional moment when the soul of the nation is constantly
in turmoil. If there is national ‘instability’ every five years
because of an election, this is a sign that the nation is on the edge
of a new constitutional frontier.
If it takes an absurd 123 days to conduct an election or one-third of a year, like we did in 2017, this is a sign that the moment
calls for change. If the country loses 1 trillion shillings during
this 123 days of an election, or an equivalent of one-third of our
national budget, this is a sign that a moment of reckoning is
approaching.
And, if every 5 years we lose life and property, including our
young ones, this a pointer to constitutional decay.
It is a sign that
the Letter of our Constitution has become rigid and is not in
tandem with the deep-seated aspirations of our people.
My question to the nation is therefore this: What is wrong with
trying to fix such anomalies?
If Kenyans are not made to serve
the Constitution; but the Constitution is made to serve Kenyans,
why imprison ourselves with models that are not working? Why
run an election for 123 days, with potential to have it extend to
one year if the results are nullified repeatedly?
And why drain 1 trillion shillings in loses or an equivalent of 1
billion shillings every working hour electing a leader for 123
days?
Our Founding Fathers urged us to aspire for constitutions of
hope and to reject constitutions of fear. A Constitution that elicits
compliance by creating fear can only cause disturbance to the soul
of the nation. And indeed, when we adopted the 2010
Constitution we were driven by fear.
Our national spirit had been wounded and we were afraid of
repeating the 2007 post-election violence. But, in running away
from one crisis, we created another. And, now is the moment to
correct this and make a shift from a constitution of fear to a
constitution of hope, a constitution that ensures our nation
remains stable; and therefore, attractive to both local and foreign
investors.
Fellow Kenyans,
BBI proposes amendments to our Constitution to give Kenyans
hope for a better nation. It seeks to align the Spirit of our nation
with the Letter of our Constitution so that obedience to the Letter
of the Constitution is driven by hope and not fear. BBI intends to
complete what we started when we adopted the 2010 Constitution
and promised to change it later.
In fact, BBI is the driver to the First Amendment to the 2010
Constitution. And BBI is not a ‘one-size-fit-all’ that promises to
settle all the constitutional questions through a singular
amendment. It is a starting point to a continuous process of
constitution-making for our young nation.
Even our Founding Fathers had to freeze certain thorny
questions at independence, in the hope that subsequent
constitution-making processes would resolve them.
Their logic then and my rationale today is that, a constitution
is a living document; it cannot be rigid. And, to build our
nationhood, we must embrace the ideal of a continuous process
of constitution-making.
BBI will not resolve all our constitutional grievances of the
day. It is just a First Amendment to the 2010 Constitution. It
only attempts to make the 2010 Constitution better. And as we
improve on it, we must remember that there will be a Second
Amendment, a Third Amendment and many more as our young
nation continues to grow.
We must therefore be guided by the Spirit of the First
Amendment to the 2010 Constitution as we debate the BBI
proposals. It is a discerning spirit that seeks to align our national
aspirations with the Letter of the Constitution. And to be
discerning, the Spirit of the First Amendment has to be a
questioning one.
The Spirit of the First Amendment is also a spirit of inclusion,
co-creation and justice.
On the spirit of inclusion, it does not augur well for our
nationhood to have two occupants at the apex of the Executive in
the persons of the President and Deputy President. More so, in an
ethnically diverse nation as ours, this creates an environment of
‘political exclusion’ resulting in the cyclic violence we have
witnessed in every election.
But if we increase the positions at the apex of our Executive
from two to five by introducing a Prime Minister and two
Deputies, more communities will be accommodated at the apex.
This was the Kofi Annan Consensus of February 2008 that gave
us peace. And, if it worked then, it means there was something
right about it.
And yes, five positions at the apex of the Executive means that
some people will be left out. This is why BBI proposes to reintroduce the position of Leader of Official Opposition, that was
so successful under the former constitutional order.
If the opposition carries a large portion of the country and the
winner in an election carries another, isn’t there a compelling
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national interest in giving official recognition to the opposition
leader and supporting his office to form a shadow cabinet?
An expanded Executive and constitutional recognition of the
opposition will reduce the notion of ‘political scarcity’ and the
propensity for electoral violence every 5 years. Similarly, it will
enhance the doctrine of a constitution of hope over a constitution
of fear.
Fellow Kenyans,
The Spirit of the First Amendment is also a spirit of cocreation. And this is demonstrated by the system of devolution,
which is one of the brilliant designs of the 2010 Constitution.
The
devolved system was engineered by the framers of our
Constitution to be a system where the National Government cocreates solutions with county governments. And the fight against
COVID-19 has demonstrated the power of this partnership. The First Amendment, therefore, proposes to strengthen this
model of co-creation by doing three things.
One, increasing fund
allocated to counties by the National Government from 15% to
35%. More money to the counties means more money to the
people.
Two, creating a Ward Development Fund. And the intention
here is to take development as close to the people as we can.
But
the third element of co-creation is probably the most compelling.
We cannot co-create the devolved system if it is dominated by
men. Devolution without women is like a seedless field where
nothing grows. That is why the First Amendment proposes a
50:50 ‘shareholding’ of Senate by men and women.
If 50% of Senate will be made of women, their contribution to
a robust devolved system will be felt. This means that they will
control half the Senate decisions, including how the upscaled 35%
of national resources sent to the counties will be spent.
And, this is why we must ask the following question here: Who
loses if women control 50% of the Senate, its resources and its
decisions? Is strengthening devolution through a 50:50 cocreation formula between men and women good for country?
Does this formula support a constitution of fear or does it create
a constitution of hope?
Fellow Kenyans,
The Spirit of the First Amendment is also a spirit of justice.
And by this I mean, justice in representation and justice under the
law. Justice in representation is also about inclusion.
Every
Kenyan must have a just and fair avenue for participation in the
actions of government. This is not a luxury; it is at the core of
our democratic ethos. And that is why the First Amendment
proposes an alignment in our representation model to ensure that
everyone is accommodated justly.
Justice under the law is about the Judiciary as the third Arm of
Government.
To ensure that the will of justice spins fairly for all,
and to reduce the distance between the disadvantaged and the law,
the Judiciary must be subjected to the will of the people. It must
have an oversight body that is a direct expression of the spirit of
the nation.
If the Executive and Parliament, which are Arms of
Government, are a direct expression of the will of the people,
whom is the Judiciary accountable to?
Where are the Judicial checks and balances located outside of
the Judicial Service Commission led and dominated by the
officers of the court?
The First Amendment proposes the setting up an independent
Office of the Judiciary Ombudsman to oversight judicial action
on behalf of the people. With this formula, the people win and
the distance between the disadvantaged and the law is reduced.
Fellow Kenyans,
As I end my address today, I appeal to all within our nation to
unshackle our nationhood from the bondage of fear; and to boldly
seize this moment of hope. It is time to embrace hope.
In a triumph of hope over fear, in March 2018, I began the
journey of improving our nationhood by extending a ‘handshake’
to the Right Hon. Raila Odinga. The ‘handshake’ was a
temporary solution to a long-term search. Our joint intention was
to have BBI provide us with a roadmap to a long-term solution.
And even then, this solution was not to become an end in itself.
It was meant to be a continuous work-in-progress.
More so, because at the core of the ‘handshake’ were the words
of Prophet Isaiah when he declared: “…Come, let us reason
together!” This mantra of rivals reconciling and reasoning
together in the interest of the nation, is what led to BBI.
And if this ‘handshake’ endures, I anticipate it will become our
New Normal and many future BBIs and ‘handshakes’ will
continue to refine our nationhood and ensure that we dwell in
unity, peace and liberty.
In pondering this initiative of reconciliation, we were further
inspired by the teachings of Saint Francis of Assisi when he said
“...start by doing what is necessary, then it will lead you to what
is possible and before you know it, you will find yourself doing
the impossible”.
The handshake was necessary as a first step to national healing
and constitutional alignment. BBI was construed as the possible
next step towards reinforcing our nationhood. And once we
accomplish the necessary and the possible, then the impossible
effortlessly becomes our reality.
Fellow Kenyans,
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As we come to the end of what has been an incredibly difficult
year, let us exercise caution more so as we interact with family.
As we seek sanctuary in family, let us remember that COVID is
real. Men, women and children are dying.
The best gift we can
give to our loved ones this Christmas is the gift of life today and
the promise of hope and a joyful tomorrow.
Fellow Kenyans,
Merry Christmas. Stay home. Stay Safe. And together let us
pray for a new year that sees an end to COVID-19 and delivers
for us a bright and prosperous 2021.
MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALL AND MAY HE BLESS THIS OUR
LAND AND NATION.
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