Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta vowed Wednesday to continue spearheading regional peace initiatives to help bring stability in neighboring South Sudan and Somalia.
Kenyatta also committed to strengthening the capacity of the country’s security forces to keep the peace, noting that without peace the desire for a better Kenya will remain a mere wish.
The president spoke about the steps made in implementing Kenya’s constitution adding that the constitution is meant to ensure a freer, fairer, wealthier, and more united Kenya.
He also addressed persistent corruption concerns in the country while assuring that his administration is putting mechanisms in place to ensure less graft in the country.
Kenyatta’s State of the Nation Address comes after months of election drama in Kenya. The country had to hold elections twice.
He said it is in Kenya’s interest to have a stable Somalia and South Sudan, two of the immediate neighboring nations that have been most affected by insecurity.
Kenyatta said Somalia remains troubled, largely by foreign agents, who are weakening its government and dividing its people, stressing Kenya will continue supporting Somalia to regain stability.
The foreign agents troubling Somalia, he said, are also threatening to reverse the gains won under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) forces.
“Through it all, we remember that if our brothers and sisters in Somalia prosper, we prosper; if they are safe, so are we. It has been our policy, then, to help them regain the peace and prosperity they once knew,” Kenyatta said.
He said Kenya has continued helping Somalia secure funding and support commensurate to its challenges, recalling his visit to Somalia last year during which he spoke to Kenyan soldiers serving as part of the AMISOM forces.
Kenyatta told the country’s lawmakers that Kenya is also engaged in efforts to support South Sudan in finding a solution to its internal crisis, noting that Nairobi continues to stand with the people of South Sudan and has lent support to multilateral peace process.
“We continue to urge the leaders of South Sudan to put the interests of their people and motherland above their own,” said Kenyatta, noting that the East African Community is making progress with Kenya playing a leading role in championing integration.
The president said Kenya is committed to unity of the region and also for the continent, noting that Nairobi has set a trend by opening its borders for EAC citizens who can now live and work in the country more easily than ever.
