Former President Uhuru Kenyatta , who turns 64 today (October 26), celebrates his birthday with the burden of a botched succession and an unfinished legacy that has seen him return to the political chessboard ahead of the 2027 election.
His birthday also marks 28 years in active politics – a journey that has seen him serve as a Member of Parliament, Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, and President before exiting the stage in 2022 after his preferred candidate, Raila Odinga , lost to his then-estranged deputy, William Ruto .
After partnering with Dr Ruto as his running mate in the 2013 and 2017 General Elections, Mr Kenyatta abandoned him in 2022 and instead supported Mr Odinga.
But when their cutthroat competition was settled at the ballot, Dr Ruto carried the day, remarkably thrashing Mr Kenyatta in the Mt Kenya region by an 88-percent margin.
As he celebrates his 64th birthday, Mr Kenyatta continues to be a force in national politics, currently appearing to scheme beneath the surface to influence the outcome of the 2027 General Election.
Though his intentions remain unclear, President Ruto has recently made public pronouncements that “I am partnering with him (Kenyatta) to unite the nation.”
Mr Kenyatta, who still leads the Jubilee Party, had earlier confirmed that the party remains in the Azimio coalition, which was led by the late Mr Odinga, who later abandoned it for a broad-based government arrangement through his Orange Democratic Movement – the single largest party in the coalition, with more than half of the MPs in the outfit.
Former president Uhuru Kenyatta.
Photo credit: Pool
“It is now very clear that after Ruto narrowly won over his boss in 2022, he immediately set about reaching out to his competitors – Mr Kenyatta and Mr Odinga – and within two years in office, they had arrived at compromised positions that continue to rattle the political space,” says political commentator and scholar Prof Peter Kagwanja.
He adds, “It is now relatively easier to make deductions about how President Ruto ended up ordering the impeachment of Mr Rigathi Gachagua in October last year after he had served as Deputy President for two years.”
According to Naivasha MP Jayne Kihara, the pro-Gachagua team now believes that he was “crucified on the cross of political deceit and blackmail.”
She said the impeachment “was pursued so that the defeated could get back to power and the Mt Kenya region could be wrenched from Mr Gachagua’s grip for a 2027 takeover by those forces that we had humiliated out of power.”
But as Mr Kenyatta turns 64 – three years older than the country’s freedom – everyone, including his close allies, is left guessing.
“What we know of Uhuru is that he is still the Mt Kenya kingpin, the most ideal person to offer us 2027’s political direction as well as craft for us the team to take us to that optimal position of safeguarding our interests,” says Jubilee Party Secretary-General Jeremiah Kioni.
Jubilee Party Leader and former President Uhuru Kenyatta during Jubilee Party National Delegates Conference held Ngong Racecourse on May 22, 2023.
Photo credit: Lucy Wanjiru | Nation Media Group
“It should not be misunderstood that Mr Kenyatta is unclear about his 2027 objectives – they are to be part and parcel of the liberation that seeks to gain control of our forefathers’ aspirations of genuinely and honestly battling disease, hunger, and illiteracy.”
After all, Cotu Secretary-General Francis Atwoli had warned the country in 2022 that “Uhuru is too young to retire from politics. I can assure you he will still be around.”
True to Mr Atwoli’s words, Mr Kenyatta’s name has not left political discourse. He was first accused by the Ruto administration of being behind the post-election protests that rocked the country in 2023.
A raid on the Kenyatta farm in Northlands saw accusations and counter-accusations about who was responsible for it, the ping-pong having gone on to this day.
Mr Kenyatta later angered the government by declaring public support for the Gen Z movement, which in June 2024 launched high-profile dissent against the establishment.
The government felt that Mr Kenyatta was inciting the youth to continue opposing it, even though he was part and parcel of the historical neglect they were protesting against.
Currently, the Jubilee Party has endorsed former Interior CS Dr Fred Matiang’i as its 2027 presidential aspirant, with Mr Kenyatta declaring that “we will soon be meeting in the field to engage about the next course for our nation.”
This move has reignited the 2022 conflict between Mr Kenyatta and Mr Gachagua, who have since formed the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) as the Mountain’s special-purpose vehicle.
He has gone on to partner with Martha Karua (People’s Liberation Party), Justin Muturi (Democratic Party), and Mithika Linturi (representing the Meru axis) to consolidate the Mt Kenya vote as a single bargaining tool against Jubilee and its allied parties.
“Uhuru is the past and in retirement in Mt Kenya, while I am the present and the future,” Mr Gachagua has since declared, setting the stage for another round of competition over who between them will lead the region into the 2027 duel.
