Disquiet in Jubilee: Raphael Tuju's statement in full

Jubilee Party Secretary-General Raphael Tuju during a press briefing on January 9, 2019. PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

The Jubilee Party released a statement on Wednesday in the wake of the resignation of vice chair David Murathe.
Jubilee Party Secretary-General Raphael Tuju said:

I have received a very gracious letter from Hon. David Murathe conveying his resignation from being one Vice Chair of the Jubilee Party. He cited reasons which are already in the public domain and I need not dwell in those.

I would like to take this opportunity to extend to Hon. Murathe our gratitude for the very selfless service and time that he gave the Party.

2017 CAMPAIGNS

Of note to me is the energy he put into the campaign for the Jubilee Party during the General Elections of 2017.

In the last few weeks or maybe even months there have been robust political discourse perceived as both positive and negative within and outside Jubilee Party.

That is part and parcel of politics anywhere in the world where people enjoy freedom of speech and expression. It is provided for in our Constitution and an aspect of the country that we should cherish and defend.

We as the party would like to state as follows:

The Jubilee Party is on course with respect to its vision and mission for this country as summed up by the sentiments of His Excellency President Uhuru Kenyatta on the very first page of our Party Constitution which states and I quote in part:

'Jubilee represents every part of our country, every group in our nation and is committed to uniting Kenyans under a shared vision of peace, progress and prosperity Kenyans are ready for a more sophisticated political debate based on ideas and vision; we are ready to take the first bold step away from ethnically based politics’.

ELECTION VIOLENCE

I also quote from the statement on record by the Deputy Party leader who is also our Deputy President HE William Ruto: "never again will Kenyan blood be shed because of political differences’’

When embarking on the journey of building the Jubilee Party the vision and the mission was to heal our land and to bury the ghosts of the post-election violence of 2007/2008 and to implement the arduous task of bringing Kenyans together.

We did not expect that journey to be easy given our political history over the last half century.

In 2017, we went through yet another very divisive electoral process which reminded us of just how fragile our country and our democracy still is.

Bringing this country together is work in progress. It is not just an incident of a few leaders coming together at different times. It is and must be the work of all of us.

President Uhuru Kenyatta and the Deputy President William Ruto achieved what seemed to be a mission impossible in 2013. They brought peace in Rift Valley among communities who were in previous elections at the centre of violence and deaths because of politics.

HANDSHAKE

This required bold steps by the two leaders despite the protests and the misgivings of their followers. They were referred to as dreamers and called all sorts of names if we are to recall. But they soldiered on and today, we owe the two a debt of gratitude.

On March 9, 2018, there was another bold step by President Uhuru Kenyatta and Hon. Raila Odinga that sought to address another rift in the political space that was inflammable and even resulted in regrettable deaths during the 2017 electoral process.

What has now become known as the ‘'hand shake'' or Building of Bridges Initiative, is in fidelity with what is captured in the very first page of our Party Constitution which requires every true Jubilee Party member to embrace the vision and the mission of a Kenya for all Kenyans.

This is a mission and vision that the President, the Deputy President and the Former Prime Minister have repeatedly endorsed in their pronouncements, that no Kenyan should be vilified, hated and discriminated against on account of their tribe, race and gender or political persuasion.

That is what I heard all of the three leaders say in Kisumu last month.

As Jubilee Party, the mission and the vision is to embrace all Kenyans. We believe we must operate ''beyond hate and disdain of others that we do not share tribe with''. We welcome all Kenyans to join us in the journey and quest to bring the country together.

That is the first pillar that informed the formation of Jubilee. We want ALL tribes. Not SOME tribes or ALL tribes EXCEPT this or the other tribe. It is not even about displacement of certain tribes. Jubilee is about a bigger, bolder and more daring dream of embracing all Kenyans. It's about adding into our vision and mission of ALL Kenyans.

It is only in our unity as Kenyans that we will be able to make Kenya viable as a country for this and the next generation, to whom we must bequeath a stable and prosperous country.

We have in recent political discourse witnessed heightened ethnic political mobilisation and caucusing. This is a challenge in our political space that is not peculiar to Jubilee but persists in all the other major political parties.

SOLDIER ON

It is not our intention to vilify such groupings as it has been part of our political DNA.

Instead we at Jubilee will endeavour to implement programs of constructive engagement to persuade all who live in this geographic area called Kenya, that our destiny is intertwined and our viability as a modern, stable and peaceful country is only possible and sustainable within the context of inclusivity and shared prosperity and by embracing each other as brothers and sisters, children of one God, who put all of us at this time in this our land called Kenya.

I would like to take this opportunity to assure our members that we are on the right track as a Party.

Our programs are on course including: -

  • The launch of the Party Academy.

  •  Opening of Party branches across the country.

  •  Ensuring compliance with the requirements of the Political Parties Act.

  •  Constructive engagements with our legislators both at the county and national level.

  •  Putting all systems and conditions that are legally required as a precedent to the conduct of credible party elections.

As the Party that has formed government, we are focused on delivering on the promises we made when we asked Kenyans to support us in the last elections. The Big Four form the center-piece of our agenda for Kenya and the intention is to deliver on these for the benefit of all Kenyans. And we mean all Kenyans, irrespective of who voted for Jubilee. That is the dictate of our Constitution and the President and his Deputy took an oath to the effect that they will serve all Kenyans without favour. The President pronounced himself on this two days ago and anyone spin doctoring it in any other way should read the Kenyan Constitution and the Jubilee Party Constitution.

The President is and has no choice but be the President of the whole country.

The journey of bringing Kenyans together is a continuum and not incidents of 2013, 2017 or 9th of March 2018.

The journey is challenging but it is a journey we must take for the sake of peace and sustained development that is not stunted during every election year. Of course the Party is awake to the fact that making the transition from ethnic-centered politics to a more enlightened political engagement is a big challenge. Since it requires a major paradigm shift, it is a challenging transition to make for our politicians, journalists and even the very educated professionals. As we take those bold steps that we must take to heal our land and secure a stable future for our children and their children, we are not surprised to witness a lot of hangover of the ethnic-based political talk.

However, President Uhuru Kenyatta is very clear, consistent and focused on the vision and mission of Jubilee as articulated by him on the very first page of our constitution that:

‘' ... we are ready to take the first bold step away from ethnically based politics.''

Because in that ethnically based politics is imbedded the vices of corruption and impunity that undermine the progress of our country and the future of our children.

It may take time and sacrifices for the paradigm to change, But change it must.

We at the Secretariat fully support His Excellency the President and the Deputy President in the important vision and mission to bring Kenyans together.

Thank you.

Hon Raphael Tuju, EGH

Secretary-General

Jubilee Party