President Uhuru Kenyatta this afternoon while giving his annual State of the Nation address has recalled how he was welcomed to parliament for the first time in 2001 by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga and former Cabinet Minister Musalia Mudavadi after his nomination.
Delivering the 8th State of the Nation Address at Parliament buildings on Tuesday, November 30, President Uhuru disclosed that the two introduced him to Parliament’s chambers after he was nominated to the August House by KANU, in October 2001.
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“I first served as a Nominated MP introduced into this chamber by the Honorable Raila Odinga and Honorable Musalia Mudavadi and later as a Cabinet Minister. I was a young man then; which is a testament that even the young can serve. After an unsuccessful Presidential bid in 2002, I found myself on the opposition benches as the Leader of the Official Opposition and Member of Parliament for Gatundu South,” Uhuru Kenyatta said while detailing his political journey.
”Five years later, and in recognition of my distinguished and principled service, I was called to serve as the Deputy Prime Minister in the Grand Coalition Government under His Excellency the Former President, Hon. Mwai Kibaki and under the Former Prime Minister, Rt. Hon Raila Odinga. In that Administration, I held the position of Minister for Trade and later as Minister for Finance,” the president continued.
”This journey of mixed fortunes taught me that you could serve your country in any capacity because service is not a position; it is action. It also taught me to have empathy for both sides of the parliamentary divide and all shades of political opinions. Of all the lessons, the enduring one is that Kenya is always greater than any one of us,” he added.
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After joining elective politics in 2001, the Head of State is expected to go into retirement two decades later in 2022, after serving his final year as president.
