Former President Uhuru Kenyatta fondly recalled a moment when Pope Francis “threw him out” of his own office at State House during the pontiff’s visit to Kenya in 2015.
Speaking during a memorial mass at the Holy Family Basilica on April 25, 2025, Uhuru Kenyatta reminisced about a memorable moment from Pope Francis’ 2015 visit to Kenya.
He recounted that they were deep in conversation in his State House office, which had hosted global leaders from Barack Obama to other world figures.
Amidst their conversation, the then President of Kenya felt compelled to convey a request of a Kenyan who wanted to have a private audience with the Pope.
“Somebody had requested a moment with his holiness (Pope Francis). I didn’t know how to put this because… anyway, I decided I was going to put the message across. He said, ‘Oh, no problem.’ So, I invited the person over to my office,” Uhuru recalled.
Uhuru Love for Pope
In his speech, the former Kenyan leader recalled how the room fell silent, with no one speaking. The Pope then stood, looked at him, signalling to him that the guest wanted a private moment.
“For the first time as president, another head of state threw me out of my own office. The most important thing to me was that here was a man, a leader of a billion-plus people across the world. But this person whom he chose to engage with, he followed up with them even after he left Kenya, communicating with and engaging with them, ” he said.
“He had the pleasure and honor of meeting him twice, and the memories of those meetings remain very dear and close to him.”
Former President Praises Pope Francis
In his tribute, the former President stated that Pope Francis was humble to all humanity.
In addition, he described the Pope as a man who walked a path of giving dignity to human life regardless of the conditions one found themselves in.
“We gather here today as people from different backgrounds, different religions, to remember and to celebrate the life of a man who truly walked in the path of Jesus, a man who, despite his high position, did not walk in and amongst the high and mighty in the world, but rather like Jesus chose to walk amongst the poor and those most in need. A true lesson, a true example of what we all call servant leadership. He chose to serve, not to be served. He chose to deliver, to save, not to be saved,” he said.
Also Read: Pope Francis and Kenya: A Legacy Rooted in Justice, Peace, and the Poor
“The most important thing to me was that here was a man, a leader of a billion-plus people across the world. But this person he chose to engage with followed up with them even after he left Kenya, communicating with and engaging with them. What greater show of humility can you ask for in a man than that? That he can lead a thousand, a million, and a billion people, yet he still remembers the one lost sheep,” he said.
“Everywhere he went, he just said simply, just pray for me. Pray for me. Pray for him to be able to do what he was doing”.
Also Read: Pope Francis is Dead: How Catholic Church Chooses New Leader & Who Could be Next in Line
Former President Praises Pope Francis
Uhuru further stated that the Pope was truly a man who walked in a path of giving dignity to human life regardless of whichever condition one found themselves in. The former President was among the dignitaries in attendance during a special mass held at the Holy Family Basilica in Nairobi.
Also present were Chief Justice Martha Koome, former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu, and a host of politicians. Pope Francis, who visited Kenya in 2015, died after period of illness on April 21.
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