In the days after the shock visit, a temporary truce by the friends-turned-foes held for some time until Mr Kenyatta’s statement on Gen Zs a month later. The latest this month, also urging the youth to stand up against the excesses of governments, appears to be the straw that has broken the camel’s back, inviting blistering attacks from senior figures in President Ruto’s government.
The secret afternoon meeting was meant to thaw the fractured relationship between the two leaders since their acrimonious fallout before the 2022 elections. Then, outgoing President Kenyatta snubbed his deputy, Ruto, and instead campaigned for opposition leader Raila Odinga, his preferred successor. Dr Ruto narrowly won the election on a joint ticket with Mr Rigathi Gachagua, with whom they have since fallen out and engineered his removal as Deputy President through impeachment by Parliament.
President William Ruto pays a courtesy call to former President Uhuru Kenyatta at his Gatundu home on December 9, 2024.
Photo credit: OFPP
Mr Kenyatta’s latest utterances urging the youth to stand up for their rights seems to have triggered an all-out war between the camps allied to the two political bigwigs rekindling their bitter rivalry.
The retired president has come under a barrage of scathing attacks from politicians allied to President Ruto who are accusing the retired president of allegedly attempting to destabilise the current regime.
“We have seen people telling us what to do. We know what to do. What we don’t want is incitement. We should be judged come 2027 whether we have delivered on our pledges,” said Deputy President Kithure Kindiki.
The latest political jabs, nonetheless, have also been met with the same political venom from Mr Kenyatta’s side.
Speaking at the second annual Guild Leaders’ Summit 2025 at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, Mr Kenyatta called on African youth to fight for good governance and shun short term political gains.
Describing the rise of Gen Z as an “independence moment,” the retired President described the youth as the last line of defense in the battle to preserve the heart and soul of Africa for the sake of future generations.
During the lecture, Mr Kenyatta also urged the youth to embrace their role as the freedom fighters of this era, remarks seen as a push for a youth-led revolution in Kenya and beyond.
“This is the moment for each and every one of you to step onto the stage, your time has come. You have the numbers, you have the time, and you have the energy to get involved and stay involved in governance discussions until you effect the changes you wish to see,” said Mr Kenyatta.
The comments, however, seemed to have rubbed President Ruto’s camp the wrong way with Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen accusing the retired Head of State of inciting youth against the government.
In a no-holds-barred attack, Mr Murkomen accused Mr Kenyatta of hypocrisy and radicalising the youth against the current regime with a view to destabilising it.
Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen.
Photo credit: Boniface Mwangi | Nation
Questioning Mr Kenyatta’s sudden wisdom after leaving office, the minister read mischief in the former president’s sudden focus on governance issues, terming it opportunistic and meant to exploit the youth.
“You were President just yesterday. The ink you used to sign decisions as Head of State has not even dried but suddenly you have become very clever and now an Angel lecturing us and telling the youth to demonstrate and attack the government,” said Mr Murkomen last week while speaking during the Jukwaa la Usalama engagements in Machakos County.
“This exploitation of our young people is not right. I want to ask leaders across the political divide that this is not an issue about political gain but we must act responsibly. This youth bulge is not new, it has been happening and tomorrow it is going to be even worse because we will have even higher numbers. This is an area that we all need to close ranks,” he added.
Over the weekend, more Kenya Kwanza leaders, led by President Ruto’s aide Farouk Kibet, joined in lashing out at Mr Kenyatta, accusing the 63-year-old of incitement and hypocrisy.
Speaking during an interdenominational fundraiser in Malava Constituency, Kakamega County, the leaders accused the retired president of doing nothing to improve the lives of the youth during his 10 years in office.
They accused Uhuru of failing to create employment opportunities for the youth during his 10-year tenure.
National Assembly Majority Whip Sylvanus Osoro took a swipe at the fourth president of Kenya of plunging the youth into a gambling crisis by presiding over the licensing of 200 betting companies in the country.
“I hear some leader is telling the youth to stand up and fight for good governance yet during his time, when young people woke up, all they found was betting opportunities. Sadly, he now wants to lecture us about the youth,” said the South Mugirango MP.
Lurambi MP Titus Khamala called on Mr Kenyatta to stop inciting the youth, telling the former Head of State to allow the current administration to work.
“When you are retired, whether you are a managing director or a president, allow those in office to work. It is ironic, absurd, and unbecoming for a retired leader to interfere with sitting leaders,” said Mr Khamala.
The leaders also accused Mr Kenyatta of double standards, criticising him for sidelining the youth during his administration only to fashion himself as their champion now that he is out of office.
“Mr Kenyatta appointed Mzee Moody Awori, then aged 91, as the chairman of the Sports Fund. When questioned, he said young people are thieves, and he preferred appointing an elder. Today he says he loves the youth, that is hypocrisy,” Kimilili MP Didmus Barasa hit back.
Belgut MP Nelson Koech accused Mr Kenyatta of not having recovered from President Ruto’s win and is still upset and uncomfortable with the outcome, calling him a sore loser.
Nelson Koech
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
“If it was for Kenyatta to decide if Ruto was to be the president, he would probably collapse the country just for the sake of Ruto going down. This is not the first time he is urging the youth to stand up. He did it immediately after the Gen Z demonstrations. It is not genuine,” said Mr Koech.
He accused the former president of not allowing the young people to speak out but muzzled their voices and silenced those who dared to stand up during his tenure.
The legislator challenged the former Head of State to look at his past, saying he has no moral standing to rally the youth to push for better governance as he was a dictator who cannibalised parties.
“He never gave the youth the chance to progress be it in his Cabinet or other sectors of the economy, many young people who were vocal were silenced. He cannot be the voice for the young people. He is just being a sore loser and is still terribly hurt by Ruto’s election win,” he said.
But this is not the first time Mr Kenyatta has spoken about the youth needing to stand up against bad governance and extrajudicial killings going on in the country.
In January, the 63-year-old urged the youth to confront issues bedeviling them without fear, rallying them to make sure they get their rights.
“The problem with some is peddling fear…Nothing lasts forever. Gen Z, you are the story of the future. Fight for your rights, people. Do not just sit idle and see everything you have worked for be taken away; do not let it happen,” said Mr Kenyatta in January this year.
The hard-hitting remarks came hardly a month after a meeting between the retired president and President Ruto, a meeting that was interpreted as marking a dramatic shift in the political relationship between the two, following almost four years of animosity and bitter rivalry between the two former political friends.
The visit was coming after three years of sustained political animosity between the two which has been punctuated by public spats, dramatic incidents and accusations of political retribution.
President William Ruto has a word with retired president Uhuru Kenyatta during the Consecration and Installation of Bishop Peter Kimani Ndung'u as the Catholic Bishop of Embu Diocese in Embu County on November 16, 2024.
Photo credit: Pool
The two even posed for a photo with President Ruto describing his former boss a Statesman for overseeing the peaceful transfer of power after the 2022 elections, and his support for Kenya’s ongoing progress and development
At the time, State House said the two committed to maintain regular engagements on matters of national importance alongside other leaders and stakeholders.
But signs that the brief political camaraderie was not going to last long came when Mr Kenyatta’s office, in a statement, said there was nothing out of the ordinary about the meeting, playing down the significance of the visit.
The statement was followed a month later by Mr Kenyatta’s rallying call on the youth and his party, Jubilee Party, has been scathing in its attack of the current regime.
The party has also been pushing for former Interior minister Dr Fred Matiang’i to challenge President Ruto in the 2027 elections.
Jubilee Secretary-General Jeremiah Kioni in January even went ahead to propose a ticket of Dr Matiang’i and Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya, calling the two a perfect fit to send President Ruto home come 2027.
The pair, popular as UhuRuto during their political heydays under the Jubilee administration, had a bitter fallout soon after President Ruto assumed office in late 2022 with the withdrawal of the retired President’s and his mother’s security and the invasion of Northlands Farm by goons as State security apparatus watched unbothered.
He accused the current regime of overreach and targeting his family with the tension reaching breaking point after a dramatic police raid on the residence of Mr Kenyatta’s son, Jomo, in Karen in 2023 over alleged firearms possession.
The actions were interpreted as being politically motivated and aimed at settling political scores after he decided to support Azimio leader Raila Odinga and his ongoing opposition to the Kenya Kwanza regime.
Kitutu Chache South MP Anthony Kibagendi, who is now in Dr Matiang’i’s camp, said he does not find fault with Mr Kenyatta’s remarks encouraging the youth to step forward.
He said the retired president is not inciting young people but it is only that Kenyans don’t like the current government and there isn’t any administration that has been as unpopular as the current regime.
“We have a government in power that lacks legitimacy and that is why any little thing provokes those who are extreme beneficiaries of the oppressive regime and that is why Mr Koech, Osoro and the others are aggrieved when the former president reminds Kenyans to step up,” he said.
Tetu MP Geoffrey Wandeto said the retired president did nothing wrong and was right to urge the youth to stand up and take the destiny of the country.
Tetu parliamentary seat candidate Geoffrey Wandeto speaks to journalists in Nyeri town on April 15, 2022. He won the UDA ticket for the race where he defeated the incumbent James Gichohi.
Photo credit: Joseph Kanyi | Nation Media Group
He said the current regime has lost it and no longer resonates with Kenyans and should introspect within itself instead of looking for people to blame but tackle the self-inflicted wounds.
“The unfortunate remarks of the leaders allied to President Ruto are an indicator of a government feeling threatened. Recently, you saw it being threatened by a bunch of young girls from Butere Girls performing a play,” said Mr Wandeto.
“Instead of addressing the issues bedeviling the country, they have come out with harsh words to defend the government and basically try and repress the youth. It is time Kenya Kwanza started listening to the people, otherwise the government will lose very early in the morning in 2027,” he added.
When reached for comment, Mr Kenyatta’s spokesperson Kanze Dena referred us to the retired President’s social pages.
“Kindly refer to our story of the event (Kampala) on our socials,” read the response by Ms Dena.
President Ruto’s press secretary Emmanuel Talam said the remarks by leaders allied to the President are in their individual capacities and do not represent the views of the Head of State.
“Those are grown-ups. They say what they know. The President has nothing to do with those comments,” said Mr Talam
