It’s an empty nest after my children moved out of home – Uhuru
As he gets to the end of his first term, President Uhuru Kenyatta says he has no regrets for the job he sought in 2013 but admits it has not been an easy one.
In a 45-minute interview with Citizen TV’s Nipashe at State House, Nairobi, President Uhuru Kenyatta said he no longer has time off or privacy, saying he is constantly on the public eye.
He also disclosed that he spends his evenings with his wife Margaret since his three children Jomo, Jaba and Ngina are now adults, whom he said had moved out of the family home and were living on their own.
“Sasa ni mimi na mama tu. (Now it is only me and my wife),” he said with a hearty laugh.
JUBILEE GOVERNOR
In Nairobi, the President said he wants a Jubilee member as governor.
“What we are looking for is for our party to win and get a Nairobi governor, and I respectfully ask wananchi to please give us a Jubilee governor in Nairobi. Whoever it will be, wananchi will decide,” he said.
On his relationship with his political rivals, the President said he does not hate any one, saying that his differences with Opposition leader Raila Odinga is only political.
“I do not hate anyone. I refer to him as ndugu yangu (my brother) each time we meet. Political differences is not enmity,” he responded in reference to the ODM leader.
“We are friends. I consider him my friend, unless he wants to say he is not.”
When asked why Kenyans should re-elect him in August, he said they had initiated lots of development projects more than any other government since independence.
“We started a journey, but we are yet to reach our destination,” he said.
He singled out provision of electricity under the Last Mile project, the building of roads and expansion of the Port of Mombasa as some of his signature projects that are changing lives.
FIGHT CORRUPTION
President Kenyatta insisted that he had done all within his constitutional mandate to fight corruption in government.
“We have done all we need to do under the Constitution. We have prosecuted the highest number of corruption cases including ministers and PSs and whenever anyone is mentioned (in graft), I have said step aside,” he said.
He argued that after doing his bit, he expects the independent offices such as the Judiciary, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, and the Director of Public Prosecutions to do its part, saying he had funded them and had no influence on them.
“I wish we had the old Constitution, you would have seen the difference. But I swore to defend and protect the current Constitution,” he said.