Weekend of forgiveness or deceit?

By Mourice Seretta

During the National Prayers Day at State House on Saturday, President Uhuru Kenyatta publicly asked for forgiveness from anyone that he might have wronged and said that he had forgiven anyone that might have wronged him.

‘We are told to thank God and ask for forgiveness then we must forgive each other too. So I beg you all, if I have done anything wrong to anyone, I beg for your forgiveness. And if any one of you has wronged me, I have forgiven him. That is the way to move forward,’ he stated.

It is not clear who the message was directed to but political pundits view the message as a veiled one to his Deputy William Ruto who was present during the event. The two have not been reading from the same script in the recent past and many believe that the message was directed to Ruto.

‘We have undergone many troubles and we have as well won many battles but the war is yet to be won and we need to continue to ask our Creator to stand with us even as we continue from today,’ President Kenyatta further stated.

Curiously, immediately after making the remarks, the Head of state had a small chat with some of the clergy who had conducted the prayers, said hi to some political leaders present including ANC Party leader Musalia Mudavadi who they exchanged pleasantries with briefly and even had a word with the State House Choir members.

But uncharacteristic of him and unlike before when the two walked away together after such events chatting happily, the Head of State only saluted his deputy and walked away. Forgiveness indeed.

As if on cue, while attending Sunday mass at AIC Bomani in Machakos town, Ruto also asked for forgiveness from all those that he might have also wronged.

‘I agree with what was said by our leader, President Uhuru Kenyatta, that we should find a path to forgiveness because we are all humans with weaknesses. Likewise, I am taking this opportunity to say to all that I may have wronged in one way or another, I kindly ask for forgiveness,’ Ruto said.

However, despite asking for forgiveness and asking the church to pray for the country, Ruto warned of the wrath of God if State organs continued stoking chaos in places of worship to achieve sinister political motives arguing that it was only through forgiveness that the country would forge together in unity and peace.

The second in command regretted the recent events where police disrupted his functions.

“As a country we must begin to walk in the path of tolerance and forgiveness. As a Christian I apologize on behalf of the government because some individuals who work for us lobbed tear gas in a church in Murang’a. Another meeting to fundraise for a church in Nyamira was also tear gassed as well as a similar function in Kakamega,” he said.

Ruto said the Jubilee Government owes credence to prayers offered in churches and must jealously guard against affliction of worshipers in churches. The DP vowed to stand firm in his commitment to support churches.

And coming hot on the heels of all the above happenings, Elegeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen has thrown a spanner in the woods despite the two leaders asking for forgiveness from each other.

Murkomen on Monday tweeted that the animosity between President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto is not just a turmoil in Jubilee but also a political risk.

“The President fighting his Deputy isn’t merely a Jubilee political joke. In international business terms that’s called political risk,” he said.

Murkomen further added that, “It’s terrible. Being a nation that has borrowed heavily, the Shilling will keep falling and we shall pay heavily. Investors are already on wait and see state.”

It is not lost on many that Murkomen is a staunch supporter of Deputy President William Ruto and his tweet indicating that there is animosity between President Kenyatta and his Deputy Ruto few days after they asked for forgiveness is telling.

Ruto’s early campaigns for 2022 has put him on a collision course with the President, who says early campaigns disrupt his development agenda.

Last week, police cancelled several meetings that DP Ruto had planned in Gusii and Western regions citing noncompliance with the new guidelines issued by the National Security Advisory Committee forcing him to postpone some of the meeting to later this week, and it will be a matter of wait and see to see whether they will take place or not as the silent war to cut him to size before 2022 intensify.