Moses Kuria Praises Uhuru For Meeting Ruto: Jubilee Is Better Under Uhuru

Moses Kuria, a Senior Advisor on President William Ruto’s Council of Economic Advisors, has saluted the Head of State for agreeing to close ranks with former President Uhuru Kenyatta, a day after the surprise meeting at the latter's home in Gatundu, Kiambu County.

Recognizing that the country is at a crossroads, Kuria, in a personal statement released on Tuesday, December 10, argued that the time has come for sobriety, selflessness, patriotism and putting the interests of the nation above self and that there would be no winners if the economy happened to collapse completely, turning Kenya into a failed state.

"Closing ranks and forgiving each other is much easier than having to deal with the aftermath of a failed nation-state. In this regard, I wish to thank President Kenyatta and President Ruto for choosing the nation over personal or sectarian considerations. Coming hot on the heels of the formation of the broad-based government by President Ruto and Prime Minister Raila Odinga, it is another affirmation of Kenya's resilience, stubbornly rising to the occasion when everyone expects us to jump to the abyss," Kuria stated in part.

The former Cabinet Secretary reckoned that in terms of the Mt Kenya region, the meeting between Uhuru and Ruto, who had shared the same government for two terms, offers a unique opportunity for introspection, amidst widespread anger and outpouring of emotions following the impeachment of the former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, something he termed as understandable and natural. 

He recalled the tough period he, Uhuru and the late Mwai Kibaki had in terms of salvaging the region from the isolation occasioned by the 2007 general elections and the subsequent violence. He applauded Uhuru for choosing reason over populism.

"As a matter of fact, there has been some excitement by some senior leaders from other communities including some in government that the region is boxing itself in another isolation cocoon and they were drawing the final political daggers. The magnanimity of President Kenyatta has silenced those evil designs. But as a region, we have learnt our lessons. We can not operate in a business-as-usual fashion any more. There are two cardinal things that we must do," he continued.

Kuria first of all called for the elimination of the handshake mentality that has proven to be a cure for Kenyan political tensions. Instead, the President's advisor implored Uhuru, Raila, and Ruto to work together and revive the stalled Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), which collapsed after a court ruling that declared it null and void, claiming that they "were right and we were wrong.

"I urge President Ruto, President Kenyatta and Prime Minister Odinga to close ranks and lead the nation in picking from where BBI flopped and give this country a Constitution that speaks to the emerging realities of our nation and our society. BBI Season 2 is urgent and can not wait," he added.

Observing lessons learnt from leaving the Jubilee Party, Kuria termed it a mistake but said he was open to a return. More ambitiously, he announced plans to converge all political parties with a footing in Mt Kenya, into one, including his own Chama Cha Kazi (CCK), and that Uhuru was the rightful party leader.

"We will now embark on bringing all the political parties with a footing in the region together under the Jubilee Party. We did it in 2016 when we dissolved parties to form Jubilee. We will do it again. Jubilee under President Kenyatta as the Party Leader is the way to go. Chama Cha Kazi and I will devote all our energies to that endeavour," he went on.

Kuria's sentiments are expected to shape political discussions and forays, especially on the need to renovate the Jubilee Party and the BBI. They come after Uhuru and Ruto met face to face, and Ruto remarked 24 hours later that the meeting was aimed at fostering unity and national cohesion.

“Let me confirm that going forward it is indeed our place as a country to work together to find a common ground on things that are of national interest to the Republic of Kenya. It is the reason why I am working with the  Former Prime Minister. This is the reason why I have reached out to the Former President.

"It is the reason why I would reach out to all other leaders so that we can fashion a country that all of us believe in,” Ruto said during the launch of the Pastoralist Leadership Summit in Wajir County.