SPEECH BY H.E. HON. UHURU KENYATTA, C.G.H.

, PRESIDENT AND
COMMANDER IN CHIEF OF THE DEFENCE FORCES OF THE REPUBLIC OF
KENYA DURING THE LAUNCH OF THE NATIONAL AND COUNTY
COHESION AND INTEGRATION DIALOGUE FORUMS, NAIROBI, 10TH
JUNE, 2014
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It gives me great pleasure to join you at this historic conference. Let me begin
by most warmly commending the National Council of Churches of enya, the
Inter!"eligious Council of enya, the National Cohesion and Integration
Commission and the Danish International Development #gency for partnering
with my government in this dialogue about our nationhood.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Last year, we celebrated the $ubilee % the &'th #nniversary of our
independence. (e remembered the dar) days of our past, and we rejoiced in
the progress we had made towards ful*lling the vision of our founders. +hey
sacri*ced their comforts, their blood % some of them their lives % so that we
might be free.
If they returned today, what would they thin) of us,
(e have not s-uandered our inheritance. +oday, we live longer than they did.
(e are better educated than they were. "ight now, we are freer than they
were *fty years ago. .ut if our founders visited us today, the depth of our
discord would disappoint them, and they would warn us that a house divided
against itself cannot stand.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
+his truth was never clearer than in /''0, when we failed to agree on the
results of that year1s presidential elections. In the end, enyans pulled
together, and preserved their nation.
+he recent atrocious attac)s by some terrorists have also brought terrible
su2ering. In another country, that pain would have been the soil in which the
seed of hatred grew.
+he fact is that enyans have a gift for bringing good from evil. +hree years
after /''0, we chose a new constitution for ourselves3 one that enshrined the
values of cohesion and unity. Now, as we face new threats to our cohesion and
nationhood, we meet to see how we can reali4e the dreams of our founders,
and the promise of that new constitution.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
(e must unify our people and our communities. +hat is how we will become
the nation we were meant to be. .ut the process cannot be merely theoretical.
(e must have a very clear grasp of what cohesion and integration as)s of us.
5irst, we must recogni4e our diversity. enyans are e-ual, but we di2er in the
languages we spea) at home, in the ways we worship, and in the colour of our
s)ins.
6econd, we must admit that we disagree about our nation1s past, and the
course our path should ta)e in years to come.
None of these di2erences justify division or hatred. None of them degrades the
dignity of any enyan. (hat they call for is respect and reconciliation. (hen
we have wronged one another, there is no shame in admitting the fault. (hen
we disagree, we learn patience for another enyan1s view. 7ur basic
commitments to e-uality, respect and reconciliation hold the nation together.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
If we are truly to dwell in unity, every institution, and every enyan, must do
their part to foster these virtues.
7ur e8perience in /''0 taught us many things, chief among them that
competitive politics is not enmity. (e hold competitive elections every few
years. (e freely choose our political leaders. +he way to win that contest is to
tal) respectfully to enyans at the appropriate time, and to convince a majority
of them that you are better able to serve their needs.
enyans )now that their leaders must serve the nation, not merely their
supporters. +hey )now that under the new constitution they chose for
themselves, leaders are obliged to serve every enyan e-ually and impartially.
enyans )now from bitter e8perience that political enmity threatens our very
nationhood.
If that is what enyans e8pect of their leaders, then it is my duty to remind
every leader % and this should be ta)en to include every public o9cer at every
level of government % that they have a responsibility to serve the cause of
national cohesion by treating every enyan e-ually.
:y Government will lead the e2ort. (e will commit even more of our resources
to cohesion and integration e2orts, and we will give every support to
organi4ations that are loyal to the cause of building cohesion in the country.
;ere, let me say that it would be good to see the $oint <arliamentary
Committee on Cohesion and =-ual 7pportunity hasten the appointments of the
commissioners to the National Cohesion and Integration Commission.
I must also urge the National #ssembly to prioriti4e and consider the various
policy papers before it that relate to cohesion, integration and tolerance. It will
be especially important to prioriti4e and pass without delay pending legislation
that touches on national cohesion and peace!building e2orts across the
country.
.ut all this will have to be complemented by the wor) of ordinary enyans.
+his nation would not be what it is if it did not have a common life % that is
what ma)es us a nation, rather than a group of strangers. 7ur common life is
made up of our individual choices. (hen we choose to live in peace with our
neighbor of a di2erent ethnicity or religion, we ma)e a choice to strengthen our
nation. (hen we choose to reconcile with those who have hurt us, we choose
enya over our grievances. #nd when we choose strife, then in our own small
way we wea)en our country.
In the end, it is the daily choices of ordinary enyans that matter most. 6ince
our history teaches us that in their daily lives the majority of enyans ma)e the
choice for nationhood, that is cause for optimism.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
(e reconcile and heal the wounds of the nation by tal)ing to each other. +he
whole wor) of the <amoja Initiative in facilitating dialogue between and within
groups is not just noble, it is nation!building.
:ine is to as) others, at every level, to emulate your e8ample and to pray that
God crowns your wor) with the success it deserves.
:ungu awabari)i na awalinde nyote.