NAIROBI, Kenya, May 4 – Jubilee Party leader Fred Matiang’i has mounted a blistering defence of former president Uhuru Kenyatta, condemning what he termed as shocking and indecent attacks by allies of President William Ruto.
Speaking during a press briefing, Matiang’i accused government leaders of lowering the bar of public discourse and diverting attention from pressing national issues.
“You hope that in a serious country like ours, there are things you do not need to spend time on. The kind of pettiness we have seen this weekend and primitiveness in addressing a retired president is shocking” Matiang’i said.
The former Interior Cabinet Secretary defended Kenyatta’s right to engage in politics, insisting that the Constitution guarantees freedom of expression and association for all citizens, including former heads of state.
“We chose democracy. We know our current president and his team did not support this Constitution, but they swore to protect it. Our party leader is going nowhere. He will continue to express himself it is his constitutional right,” he said.
Matiang’i dismissed the uproar over Kenyatta’s recent phone address to Jubilee delegates, ridiculing the reaction from government ranks.
“A retired president makes one phone call and the government screams the whole weekend. What kind of people are these? You have a country to run, a government to run yet all your time is spent insulting a retired president” he noted.
He warned that the language used by some leaders against Kenyatta was eroding national values and setting a poor example.
“Even we as Jubilee cannot allow our members to use that kind of language against President Ruto because it is indecent and unbecoming. We must uphold the decency of difference we can disagree, but we must be decent about it,” Matiang’i said.
Matiang’i drew comparisons with established democracies noted that former leaders across Africa and the West routinely participate in public life without attracting hostility.
“In Nigeria, in the United States, in the United Kingdom former presidents and prime ministers speak, campaign and attend public forums, and the world does not come to an end,” he said.
“But here, some people with a village worldview are busy insulting a retired president for making a phone call,” Matiang’i added.
The Jubilee leader also took aim at the government’s performance, accusing it of masking governance failures through political attacks.
“On a weekend when your own party members are announcing they will not defend their seats on your ticket, when it is clear to the world you are a sinking ship, you choose to insult your predecessors,” he said.
“There is work to be done insecurity, livestock theft, economic hardship but leaders are distracted.”
Matiang’i further claimed that Kenyans were increasingly disillusioned, warning against what he described as arrogance and self-destructive hubris in leadership.
“When you hear this language, you must ask yourself do you want another five years of this? Is this the country we want, where a retired president is insulted the whole weekend for speaking?” he posed.
He urged leaders to focus on building a modern, respectful democracy.
“We are not going to walk down that road of behaving like pre-Cambrian people, insulting others for no apparent reason,” he said. “Kenya is a serious country. We are better than this.”
Retirement Benefits
Jubilee Secretary General Moitalel Ole Kenta, who also addressed the press, echoed Matiang’i’s sentiments, questioning why Kenyatta’s remarks had triggered strong reactions within government ranks.
“What is so threatening about a former president speaking to the people he once led?” Kioni asked, adding that democratic space must be protected.
He warned against suggestions by some leaders to review or withdraw retirement benefits for former presidents, terming such proposals unconstitutional and dangerous.
“Retirement benefits are legal entitlements, not political favours. To weaponise them is to cross a line no responsible leadership should approach.,” he said.
The Jubilee leadership maintained that Kenyatta remains central to the party’s activities and dismissed claims that his involvement in opposition politics is inappropriate.
“Kenya is a serious country. We are better than this. Let us build a society that respects democracy, dignity and difference,” he said.