Developing story: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi confirmed dead in chopper crash
Which way Uhuru? Weighing the options as President leaves office
As the curtain falls on President Uhuru Kenyatta’s tenure as Head of State, focus now shifts to his future plans out of power.
As the curtain falls on President Uhuru Kenyatta’s tenure as Head of State, focus now shifts to his future plans out of power.
Unlike his predecessors — Daniel Arap Moi and Mwai Kibaki who retired in 2002 at 78 and 2013 at 81 respectively — Mr Kenyatta heads to retirement at a relatively young age of 60, eliciting debate on whether he should quit active politics or not.
Whereas Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party leader Raila Odinga had promised to name Mr Kenyatta as an adviser in his administration had he won the presidential election, President-elect William Ruto, who had a bitter falling out with Mr Kenyatta whom he deputised for 10 years, has not pronounced himself on whether he would accord him any role after retirement.
Protect outgoing President
Dr Ruto has, however, promised to protect the outgoing President with a rider that “this would depend on his behaviour.”
President Kenyatta chairs the Azimio Council and will remain the Jubilee Party leader. Political analysts opine that, for the stability of nations, retired Heads of State are expected to keep off politics. They say that a sitting President may occasionally consult them in private, or give them non-political assignments.
Should President Kenyatta choose to remain in active politics, that would be contrary to what happened in 2002 when Moi handed over Kanu party leadership to him after President Kibaki took over. President Kibaki also left the Party of National Unity after retirement in 2013.
Azimio’s National Coalition Executive Committee (NCEC) 1st deputy chairperson Mr Adan Keynan, who is also the Jubilee Parliamentary Secretary, said Kenyans should expect to see President Kenyatta around for a while as he offers “strategic advisory services at the request of the successive regimes and the region.”
Post-retirement role
He pointed out that President Kenyatta has been integral to various activities in the region, the continent and key United Nations agencies on matters of defence, regional peace, environment and other global affairs, putting him at a vantage point of having a role post retirement.
“This is a wealth of experience that any well-meaning successive regime would seriously borrow from time to time,” Mr Keynan said.
Mr Odinga’s presidential campaign spokesperson, Prof Makau Mutua, also suggested that President Kenyatta will still have a critical role to play.
“I am sure Mr Kenyatta will remain engaged in national, African, and global affairs for a long time to come,” said Prof Mutua, adding that the outgoing President would, however, not be embroiled in local politics in his Mt Kenya backyard.
“He has passed that mantle on to [Mr Oinga’s running mate] Martha Karua,” Prof Mutua said.
Peace space
Prof Mutua argues that continental bodies like the African Union and global organisations like the United Nations will have many things for President Kenyatta to do in the “peace space.”
“He may play roles similar to those that former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has undertaken.”
For Murang’a Governor and Ruto ally Irungu Kang’ata, President Kenyatta is unlikely to indulge in Mt Kenya or Jubilee politics because “his party would perform poorly.”
“If Jubilee performs poorly, [Mr Kenyatta] will hesitate to associate with it. But even if it performs well, jostling for power might [oust] him from its political epicentre,” Mr Kang’ata said.
Keep off politics
Prof Macharia Munene of United States International University said President Kenyatta should emulate Moi and Kibaki and keep off politics. The chances of this happening, Prof Munene pointed out, were slim.
“He will continue to have some influence in Mt Kenya but not as much as he used to. The new president or even the AU or UN might find a goodwill position for him as a continental or global troubleshooter,” he said.
“His intimate knowledge of global peace and security means he joins the league of retired and respected statesmen like [Nigeria’s Olusegun] Obasanjo and Thabbo Mbeki [of South Africa],” political risk analyst Dismas Mokua said.
He warned that participating in the Mt Kenya politics after retirement “will damage [President Kenyatta’s] asset value and expose him to unnecessary altercations with Mt Kenya politicians.”
Party politics
Prof Gitile Naituli of Multi Media University said President Kenyatta is unlikely to engage in party politics within Azimio despite chairing its council.
Prof Naituli said that, just as the National Alliance Rainbow Coalition (Narc) Summit collapsed after President Kibaki was elected in 2002, the Azimio Council will equally die a natural death.
