Uhuru Kenyatta
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 26,1964 |
| GENDER | Male |
| FAMILY | Married to Margaret Kenyatta |
| OCCUPATION | Politician, 4th President of Kenya |
Biography
Muigai Kenyatta was the 4th President of the Republic of Kenya ruling as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces between 2013 and2022.
He is the son of Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya’s first president (1964–1978) and Ngina Kenyatta, Kenya’s first lady.
Education
Uhuru attended St Mary’s School in Nairobi. He also worked as a teller at the Kenya Commercial Bank between 1979 and 1980.
Similarly, he studied political science at Amherst College in the United States, where he graduated and later returned to Kenya, launching a company Wilham Kenya Limited.
Wilham Kenya Limited sourced and exported agricultural produce.
Uhuru Joining Politics
In 2001, he became Minister for Local Government under the late former President Daniel Arap Moi.
Moi favoured Uhuru giving him his blessing to succeed him. In December 2002, Uhuru ran as KANU’s presidential candidate but lost to opposition candidate former president Mwai Kibaki.
Afterwards, he campaigned for Kibaki’s re-election in December 2007 and was appointed Minister of Local Government in January 2008.
Thereafter, Muigai became Deputy Prime Minister and later served as Minister of Trade in the coalition government formed in April 2008.
Uhuru also served as Finance Minister from 2009 to 2012, while remaining Deputy Prime Minister to Raila Odinga.
ICC Case and Election
However, later in 2010, the International Criminal Court (ICC) listed Uhuru as one of six individuals suspected of orchestrating the post-election violence; he quickly denied the claims and declared his innocence.
He resigned as Minister of Finance on January 26, 2012, following accusations by the ICC of perpetrating crimes against humanity in the aftermath of the 2007 election.
The former head of state left KANU in April 2012, and formed a new party known as The National Alliance (TNA) the following month. Later that year, he and TNA joined the Jubilee Coalition, a multiparty coalition.
Uhuru and the 5th President William Ruto campaigned together for the posts of president and deputy president, respectively.
Although some questioned the two men’s ability to run in the election, the High Court of Kenya dismissed a case seeking to prevent them from running in February 2013.
In the March 2013 presidential election, he defeated Raila Odinga with a narrow majority in a single round of voting to become President of Kenya.
Uhuru Kenyatta’s Wealth
Kenyatta had an estimated net worth of Ksh73 728 110 500 ($500 million) at the time of the 2013 election, making him one of Kenya’s wealthiest citizens.
Among his family’s considerable business holdings are ventures in the areas of media, banking, tourism, insurance, and dairy.
In addition, the Kenyatta family also owned more than 500,000 acres of land in Kenya, much of which had been acquired by his father during a postcolonial land-transfer program.
Due to their real estate holdings, the family became one of the largest landowners in a country where land ownership conflicts had long been a source of discontent among people whose ancestors had been uprooted during the colonial era.
ICC Verdict
The ICC prosecution dropped all allegations against Uhuru in December 2014, stating that the Kenyan government had hampered the ICC in gathering vital evidence and citing widespread intimidation of its witnesses, and the case procedures were halted in March 2015.
Uhuru was the flag bearer of Jubilee party with Ruto again serving as his running mate in the August 8, 2017, elections and was re-elected.
In September 2022, Ruto selected Uhuru as a peace envoy to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia where he serves as Facilitator of the EAC-Led Nairobi Peace Process.
Follow our WhatsApp Channel for real-time news updates:
