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SPEECH BY HIS EXCELLENCY HON.

UHURU KENYATTA,
C.G.H., PRESIDENT AND COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE
DEFENCE FORCES OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA DURING
THE FIFTH MASHUJAA DAY, 20TH OCTOBER, 2014
My Fellow Kenyans,
We gather today at this Mashujaa Day, to celebrateourheroes and
heroines. The men and women who through their acts of courage
and compassion defne the essence of Kenya and its people.
Kenyans who stood up to denounce, organise against and fght
colonial rule and authoritarian goernment. Kenyans in our
security forces, currently on the battlefeld combating terrorists at
home and abroad.
The brae police o!cers, soldiers, and ciilians, li"e #hief
$nspector %tephen &elei, %ergeant Moses 'mojong and the late
&ieutenant (oseph Mu"oto Masulia, who ris"ed their lies to sae
innocents attac"ed at the Westgate Mall last %eptember.
We lionise our winning sportsmen and women. Their winning
e)ploits repeatedly rea!rm that our innate talent once combined
with hard wor" can raise us from the smallest illage to be the
best in the world.
To see the determination, teamwor" and dignity of men and
women li"e Dennis Kimetto and *ita (eptoo, as they battle for
ictory, is to be reminded anew of the limitless possibilities that
are ours to grasp.
(ust as importantly, we also celebrate the multitude of unsung
heroes whose eeryday e+orts bring progress and unity to
families, communities and our nation.
,ll of us hae Mashujaa in our lies. We gie than"s to the aunt
who sacrifces her own comforts to pay for school or hospital fees.
The local policeman, who turns up for wor" eeryday ready to
apprehend dangerous criminals. The nurses and doctors who go
beyond the call of duty to soothe our pain and gie us hope. We
are grateful for those who mentor the young, and the
philanthropists whose charities sae lies and bring relief to the
orphaned, the poor, the sic", the hungry and the destitute.
They are just as great Mashujaa as our most heroic freedom
fghters, Koitalel arap %amoei, Me"atilili, Dedan Kimathi, the
Kapenguria %i), -ginga -dinga.
,nd those men and women ... Wangari Mathai, ,li Ma.rui, and
others ... who hae used their education to open our eyes to the
most pressing challenges of the day.
-ur gratitude is deeply felt for their sacrifces confrm that we are
one, and that this unity in caring for one another will ma"e us
greater than the sum of our parts.
Fellow Kenyans,
$t is my fundamental coniction that together we can do and
achiee more. That is the essence of our new constitution which
has deoled power so that we can deliberate together at the
grassroots on the best solutions to our problems.
'en as deolution is pursued, my /oernment is accelerating the
pace of 'ast ,frican integration. $t will o+er our businesspeople
and their foreign counterparts to sei.e the opportunities in a large
and initing regional economy and thus create millions of jobs for
young Kenyans.
To reap lasting beneft from the simultaneous implementation of
deolution and regional integration re0uires a united people.
1nfortunately, too many of our leaders are masters at shouting at
one another, see"ing headlines more than real deelopment, and
using eery ethnic and religious di+erence to try and split us
apart.
The immense promise of Kenya will only be truly realised if we all
insist that they change their ways and become masters of
listening to one another. That they compete to create headlines
announcing concrete deelopment achieements2 and that their
words and actions re3ect a desire to sere Kenyans.
Fellow #iti.ens,
This present era of our republic was inaugurated four years ago
when we adopted a people4centred constitutional order. We came
to that celebrated pass through a united, century4old e+ort to
oerthrow colonial oppression and build an independent,
democratic Kenya.
$n celebrating our renewed republic, we should strie to
remember that colonialism was ultimately a brutal undermining of
the rule of law that our forefathers had lied by.
$t therefore follows that upholding our constitution is a daily
reclamation of what was initially lost to colonial rule and its
remnants in the post4colonial period.
$t is by liing under laws and rules of our own ma"ing that we are
a soereign people whose collectie will must neer be
subordinate to any. 5et there are forces that see" to reerse our
progress, to interfere in the a+airs of our nation, and to rupture
our unity. We must therefore remain eer igilant if we are to
retain the right to build a prosperous, independent and strong
nation.
To this day, there are countries and institutions abroad that see"
to adance their economic and geopolitical goals to our
disadantage. They fund and nurture arious outfts whose
actions and isions seem set to create cleaages between
Kenyans, and leae us despondent with their messages of
perasie failure. These actors hae positioned themseles as the
gate"eepers and interpreters of Kenya in arious capitals. $f they
were to succeed, they would so completely rob us of faith in each
other that we would put our destiny in the hands of unelected,
unaccountable institutions that answer to foreign powers.
This howeer will not happen as long as my goernment is in
place. $ pledged to protect our soereignty and adance our
constitutional democracy. $ will do so without hesitation and with
no faour or letup. ,s a start, my /oernment will insist on
transparency of resource mobilisation and utilisation in and
outside the public sector.
This is especially important in enabling us to successfully combat
the ,l4%habaab terrorists and their local sympathisers.
-ur democratic space with its right to free speech and association
gies them the opportunity to use e)aggerated, dishonest claims
of ictimhood to radicalise and recruit Kenyan youth.
Their funding and actiities must be uncoered at all times to put
a stop to their campaign to "ill innocent Kenyan ciilians and the
brae members of our security forces.
My Fellow Kenyans,
The threat of terrorists to our democracy is profound.
They are part of a networ"ed global moement that een as $
spea" is destroying lies and entire communities in %yria, $ra0,
5emen and &ibya. Thousands of foreign fghters are streaming into
terrorist campaigns worldwide from een the richest most
adanced democracies.
They perpetrate attac"s such as the ones we su+ered at
Westgate, /i"omba, Thi"a %uperhighway and Mpe"etoni. 6ot as a
response to any action or inaction by our goernment or people,
but because they see" to terrorise us into helplessly acceding to
their eil ision of a society in which women are irtually slaes,
where there is no freedom of religion, of speech or indeed of any
democratic choice.
&i"e leeches, they feed on the disunity arising from local leaders
whose constant negatiity diides our communities and causes
false ethnic and religious antagonism.
My /oernment will intensify e+orts to stamp out incitement. We
will insist with eery legal tool at my disposal that the use of
public pulpits by all leaders, teachers, preachers and imams be
lawful and focused on building national cohesion.
,s we underta"e these e+orts, let us ta"e the time to honour and
celebrate our men and women in uniform who sere at home and
abroad. These patriots daily ris" their lies to bring stability to
neighbouring %omalia by waging war against a ruthless ,l4
%habaab.
%ome of them hae paid the ultimate price in the line of duty.
,s their #ommander in #hief, $ call on you to join me in honouring
them all. -ur best tribute to them is to ma"e sure they feel our
gratitude.
We should also play our part by denying criminals space to
operate. This will be achieed by our participating in the 6yumba
Kumi program. %ince its inception, numerous plans by e)tremists
and terrorists hae been foiled with the assistance of Kenyans.
-ur country will become safe neighbourhood by neighbourhood
through the inolement of each and eery one of us.
Fellow Kenyans,
$t is not only terrorists and criminals that ma"e us feel uncertain.
Many of us wonder what the future holds for us in terms of
securing the education and s"ills that will enable us to secure a
decent lielihood. This is especially the case with our youth.
My /oernment has commenced a number of transformatie
initiaties aimed at the creation of millions of jobs. Foremost are
large4scale infrastructure projects we hae initiated that will
accelerate our country7s economic deelopment.
-ne of these is in e)panding energy production so that we can
sharply lower the cost of electric power. 5our power bills ne)t
month will tell you that this is a reality. 8y 9:;<, we intend to
hae added =,::: Megawatts of green, clean and reliable power
to the national grid.
#heaper power deliered through faster connection will instantly
improe food production and agro4processing. Manufacturing
frms will become more competitie and e)pand their production.
The result in the agricultural sector, which is still the major
employer of Kenyans, and in manufacturing, which is our route to
becoming a wealthy nation, will be the creation of more jobs.
These inestments in power production will also improe
academic performance and ma"e learning outcomes more e0ual
across the country.
We hae already connected ;;,::: schools to the power grid, and
are adding do.ens more eery wee". #heaper connections to the
grid and lower household prices mean many more children being
able to study late into the night and thus improe their
performance.
We are also wor"ing to ensure that all hospitals and dispensaries
hae electricity so that they can adopt technologies that sae
more lies. ,s more of our streets are lit more cheaply, our towns
and cities will become safer from crime.
Fellow Kenyans,
My /oernment too" only a year to delier a new world4class
airport terminal in 6airobi after last year7s fre. We are bringing
the same "ind of ambition to constructing new airports, port
facilities, railways and roads. $n the ne)t = years, we intend to
tarmac ;:,::: "ilometres of new roads2 this is almost e0ual to
what was done in the ffty years since independence.
This infrastructure will create jobs for our young people and
wealth for us all. First because the /oernment has ensured that
it is a legal re0uirement for goernment to gie >:? of
goernment tenders to youth4owned businesses.
6e)t, it is these roads, railway, ports and airports that will allow
more companies to be based in Kenya where they can employ
s"illed and hardwor"ing Kenyans while being able to send their
goods into the fast integrating mar"ets of 'ast ,frica, 'urope,
,sia and the ,mericas.
The combination of cheaper power, better infrastructure and
improed security will enable us to build a 9@4hour economy
whose reach is global.
My Fellow #iti.ens,
'en as we reach for the stars, $ "now that many Kenyans are
struggling because food prices are still too high. The simple
reason is that the supply is not ade0uately meeting the growing
demand. To reerse this, my /oernment has enabled the
cultiation of the frst ;:,::: of the committed one million acres
of irrigated farmland. This will enable us feed all Kenyans much
more cheaply by 9:;<. We are also ta"ing immediate action to
help the most ulnerable.
1nder the Aunger and %afety 6et Brogramme coering Mandera,
Marsabit, Wajir and Tur"ana, my /oernment has allocated ;=.C
billion shillings under a =4year programme, distributed to ;::,:::
households.
We hae also e)panded the social protection plan to coer more
than one million elderly and seerely disabled people this
fnancial year. We almost doubled the number of households
benefting from this monthly stipend to almost half a million. $t will
o+er some basic support that is reliable so that other e+orts by
indiiduals and communities hae something to build on.
Fellow Kenyans,
,s we wait for the jobs that will come with transformation, we are
ta"ing measures to create opportunities now. My /oernment7s
-ne Million ,rtisans training programme will connect trainees to
job opportunities in medium and large projects. Moreoer, young
people, especially in the $#T sector, will secure jobs through the
,gency model for e#iti.en serices.
My /oernment7s commissioning of D: technical colleges, with @:
more to come is testament to our belief that not all paths to
success pass through uniersity.
, watershed e)ample of this ision is in our restructuring of the
6ational 5outh %erice into an institution that will drie the youth
transformation agenda. &ast year, 65% recruited oer @::: youth2
this year, the inta"e was 9:,:::2 and ne)t year we want to recruit
D:,::: and to continue e)panding in the coming years.
$nolement in urban gentrifcation and rejuenation starting with
Kibera where 65% are wor"ing with local youth to create hope and
opportunity out of hopelessness is a ital part of our programme.
These young people will be proided with ital s"ills in demand by
employers and will also be eligible for enterprise loans. $n return,
they hae the opportunity to sere our country. $n the past year
alone, wor"ing with ministries, they hae constructed oer a
thousand small dams and water pans for domestic, agricultural
and liestoc" use in dry areas. They clean the poorest areas of
our cities, and do so with a patriotic .eal that inspires all who see
them wor".
$ want eery young Kenyan to "now that despite today7s
challenges, the future is bright. 5our education, your ability to
wor" hard and be open to the world that is the common gift of
Kenya7s dierse cultures, combines to ma"e you one of the most
attractie wor"ers in the world.
My /oernment is wor"ing oertime to ma"e sure that we enable
your e+orts, and those of inestors so that they can ma"e
ma)imum use of your abilities.
Fellow Kenyans,
My recent call for olunteer healthcare wor"ers to go and help the
West ,frican nations being raaged by 'bola has been responded
to positiely by do.ens of brae men and women. $ want to
honour them for such compassion and generosity.
The more we do to stop the irus spreading at its source, the
safer our country and region will be.
These heroic olunteers teach us of the indomitable spirit of our
people. There is also an important lesson in the thousands of
deaths from the crisis they are going to combat. That wea" state
institutions unable to properly delier health and security serices
to all are an initation to disaster.
$t was not always this way in ,frica. We got to this unfortunate
result by too willingly adopting deelopment paradigms that hae
systematically wea"ened our states for the last thirty years.
6o more. We must refocus our e+orts, and those of the entire
world, on building e+ectie goernments whose serices are
accessible to all, accountable to all, accountable to all and that
hae the e)tra resources to respond to shoc"s and emergencies.
This is the duty of /oernment and must not be outsourced to
donor4funded entities whose e+orts are aimed at relief and not at
the comprehensie scale it ta"es to transform lies or respond to
crises.
Aaing said this, it is important that we ac"nowledge that the
greatest roadbloc" to e+ectie goernment is corruption. ,s"ing
for bribes or paying them wea"ens systems and destroys hope.
The most heroic action you can ta"e as a citi.en is to ensure that
in all our counties, towns, cities and illages, we denounce all
forms of corruption and refuse to participate in this scourge. My
/oernment is wor"ing hard to use technology, better
management and transparency to eliminate loopholes used for
corruption.
My Fellow #iti.ens,
$ urge you to join me in recognising that our indiidual aspirations
are better realised in a political mar"etplace whose focus is on
deelopment. 6ot endless, noisy and unproductie politic"ing.
My /oernment is focused in doing eerything possible to enable
you to deelop as an indiidual and a community. That is why $
e)press gratitude to a group of heroes who are rarely praised in
occasions such as these.
$ am tal"ing about the entrepreneurs whose persistence to build
and grow a business 4 whether small or big 4 re0uires they
oercome many disappointments and ta"e many ris"s. Their
struggle to pay salaries eery month, to open new mar"ets and
deelop new products is heroic. $t is the prosperity that they
create which will allow us to o+er the "ind of education, health
and security we all want for our children.
My /oernment will do eerything in its power to improe
serices and lower the cost of doing business to assist them to
succeed.
Finally, dear Kenyans, $ loo" ahead and see a great destiny
waiting for us. $ "now we will attain it because $ lead a people who
count millions of heroes among them, and whose unity will be our
shield and torch in the coming days.
Than"s to you all, because you are the heroes of today and the
future, and /od 8less Kenya.

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