10 April 2013

Uhuru Kenyatta, son of Kenya's first president, is sworn into office





The following is an excerpt from Uhuru's acceptance speech:

"Fellow Kenyans, today work begins.

The time has come to ask, not what community we come from, but rather what dreams we share. The time has come to ask, not what political party we belong to, but rather what partnerships we can build. The time has come to ask, not who we voted for, but what future we are devoted to.

Fellow Kenyans, we must move forward together. Let us remember that although we may not be bound together by ethnicity, or cultural practices, or religious conviction – our kinship rests solidly upon the fact that we have all been adopted by Kenya’s borders. We are all children of this nation. We are all bound to one constitution which calls us to rise above our individual ideologies and march to our national anthem.

That anthem reminds us of the fundamental principles upon which our prosperity must be built. It calls us to reflect on the power of peace; to recall the supreme value of freedom; to believe, once more, in the beauty of service and brotherhood; to aspire each day, to the dignity that results from hard work, and to contend for the hope that justice brings.

Brothers and sisters, fellow Kenyans – let us move forward, together, in the spirit of our anthem and in the spirit of our constitution, being confident that if we turn neither to the left nor to the right of our national values, we, as a people, will see the promised land of prosperity that our forebears set out for.

God bless you, God bless the Republic of Kenya, and God bless Africa."



Uhuru Kenyatta is the son of Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya's first president, who ruled from 1964–1978. His name, Uhuru, is Swahili for "freedom". He was born in 1961, just two years before Kenya gained her freedom from British colonialism in 1963. Uhuru is Kenya's fourth president and he is the youngest, at 51, to take office.


Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya's first president

Young Uhuru with his father, President Jomo Kenyatta


I watched the swearing-in ceremony on live-stream, while in Singapore.
My grand-daughter, Mia, peppered me with great questions during the event.


2 comments:

Naomi Hattaway @ naomihattaway.com said...

So what were Mia's comments / questions ?

deb said...

Things like: What does a 'president' do? What's a government? What's he saying [when the M.C. repeatedly asked the crowd (in Swahili) to 'please be quiet']?