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 2013 JAMHURI DAY 50TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS AT SAFARICOM STADIUM, KASARANI, NAIROBI, ON 12TH DECEMBER, 2013 Your Excellencies, Heads of State and Government, Friends of Kenya, Fellow Kenyans, Ladies and Gentlemen, You are all aware, last week on Thursday the former resident of South !frica, Hon" #elson $andela,%assed away" There is no dou&t the late $andela will remain, even in his death, an ins%iration to all %eo%le of the 'orld who care a&out humanity and freedom" (n this re)ard, it is &efittin), &efore ( %roceed any further with my remarks,we all o&serve a minute of silence to honour this truly !frican icon"'e %ray our $i)hty God rests $andela*s soul, in everlastin) %eace" !s we cele&rate this definin) moment in our history, let us also remem&er all those %an+!fricanists whose sacrifice and unity of %ur%ose saw the li&eration of our continent" To)ether with our foundin) %resident, $,ee -omo Kenyatta, Kwame #krumah of Ghana, $walimu -ulius #yerere of Tan,ania, Kenneth Kaunda of .am&ia, !l)eria*s foundin) resident, !hmed /en /ella and of course #elson $andela, these were visionaries who saw a united !frica as the foundation of a truly %ros%erous continent" 'e are %roud of these )reat sons of !frica, and acknowled)e their sacrificial role, which continues to sha%e our continent" Ladies and Gentlemen, 'e as Kenyans are %roud that our freedom stru))le %rovided ins%iration to #elson $andela, one of history0s )reatest leaders" His life and monumental accom%lishments testify to the necessity to fi)ht for freedom" (ndeed, we have &een %rivile)ed to live durin) his time and learn so much from him" Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Today marks a historic, momentous and )lorious day for our country, Kenya" (t is with 1oy and %ride that we cele&rate 23 years of inde%endence" Fifty years a)o, on 4ecem&er 56, 5789 a new and ho%eful nation, Kenya, was &orn with unlimited %otential" 'e were now a free and soverei)n %eo%le, and we &e)an the 1ourney of determinin) our own %olitical, economic, and social destiny" :ur stru))le for inde%endence, which had )one on for many years, had finally &orne fruit" /ut this inde%endence did not come chea%" (t was won &y the &rave,

selfless, and visionary men and women who were willin) to sacrifice even their own lives for the love of their country" !nd, indeed, thousands %aid the ultimate %rice in the course of the stru))le" This, they did, to )uarantee that their children and children*s children would &e free, livin) with di)nity" The freedom we en1oy today was earned &y the &lood of %atriots and their sacrifices must never &e in vain" !s we reco)ni,e the im%ortant role that they %layed in our nation*s history, we must remem&er that the )reatest honour that we can )ive them is to live &y the hi)h ideals that they envisioned for Kenya" Their %assionate dreams for an e;uita&le, free and 1ust Kenya must &e our drivin) force today and in the years to come" $ost im%ortantly, the unity exhi&ited &y the freedom fi)hters, re)ardless of their race, tri&e, reli)ion, or class should motivate our efforts to &uild a united, %ros%erous nation, devoid of ethnic or %arochial divisions" 'e must remain, united as Kenyans, and, ( underscore, it is not a matter of choice" Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, !t inde%endence our foundin) %resident, identified three enemies that we were to fi)ht from then on" These were %overty, i)norance, and disease" :ver the last 23 years, we have made )reat strides in overcomin) these %ro&lems" Fifty years a)o, our economy was &asically one %roducin) %rimary commodities that were more meant to %rovide raw materials for our coloniser*s industries" Today, the economic landsca%e is si)nificantly different" There are thousands of successful local entre%reneurs who are en)a)ed in a myriad of &usiness activities that %roduce )oods and services for domestic consum%tion as well as for ex%ort" :ur Securities Exchan)e is thrivin) and is one of the leadin) &ourses on the continent" 'e have a stron) middle class that is )rowin) &y the day" The service sector, es%ecially (<T, has )rown in lea%s and &ounds, driven &y home+)rown innovations and is now %rovidin) livelihood to millions of our %eo%le" Kenya is now a re)ional financial hu& and numerous multinational com%anies have set u% re)ional and continental offices in #airo&i" $ost im%ortantly, our a)ricultural sector, which is the &ack&one of our economy, has &ecome increasin)ly moderni,ed" (ndeed, it is a source of income for our farmers" 'e also have an envia&le infrastructure network that facilitates trade across the country as well as the re)ion" To increase our stock of infrastructure, ( recently launched the construction of the Standard Gau)e =ailway and the new -omo Kenyatta (nternational !ir%ort Greenfields Terminal" These %ro1ects will )reatly enhance our com%etitiveness as Kenya and, indeed, for the Eastern !frica re)ion as a whole" They will also %rovide o%%ortunities for em%loyment of our youth, durin) construction and after com%letion" To further dee%en our infrastructure develo%ment, my Government,in colla&oration with our nei)h&ours, has

committed to undertake the Lamu ort, South Sudan, and Ethio%ia Transit>L! SSET? %ro1ect, which will o%en a second ma1or corridor of develo%ment in this re)ion" Ladies and Gentlemen, Fifty years a)o, millions of our %eo%le were illiterate and unschooled" Today, over 73 %ercent of Kenyans are educated" 'e have a forward+lookin), versatile and am&itious %eo%le a&le to su%%ort every industry in the modern economy" Today, Kenya &oasts 66 %u&lic universities, do,ens of %rivate universities, thousands of colle)es and institutes" The array of %rofessions &ein) develo%ed is ama,in)" 'e are in the forefront in industrial and (<T trainin), not to mention traditional %rofessions" !s ( s%eak, this month alone, some ten thousand Kenyans )raduated from universities" Fifty years a)o, healthcare was inaccessi&le to most of our %eo%le" Health facilities were few, far &etween and thousands of our %eo%le died from treata&le medical conditions" Today, the situation is remarka&ly different" #ot only do we have thousands of health workers, &ut also services are much closer to the %eo%le as health facilities are now s%read across all %arts of the country" 'e have also achieved nota&le success in the areas of child and maternal health" Fifty years a)o electric li)htin) was only associated lar)ely with the cities of #airo&i and $om&asa" Today we have, throu)h a com%rehensive rural electrification %u&lic investment %ro)ramme, taken electric %ower to most %arts of the country that were in the %ast viewed as remote" This is transformin) our rural set+u%s and em%owerin) them" Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, !s we commemorate this historic -amhuri 4ay, ( call three thin)s to your attention" First of all, ( a%%eal to you to reflect on the sacrifices of our freedom fi)hters" !t a dark time, these heroes and heroines @ %easants, menial la&ourers, clerks, traders, the youth and other ordinary %eo%le @ chose, at an enormous %ersonal cost, to take the 1ust %ath for their nation" Secondly, let us consider the cost of freedom" !lthou)h human ri)hts are fundamental and inaliena&le, they still need to &e %rotected and defended" Let us all reflect on the value of our freedom and soverei)nty, and commit ourselves to always defend them" Thirdly, ( invite you to consider more dee%ly the res%onsi&ilities that come with freedom" Freedom is meanin)ful when citi,ens shoulder their o&li)ations to one another and dili)ently dischar)e them" 'hat are these o&li)ationsA To treat each other with res%ect, no matter our cultural differences" To work hard and honestlyB To refrain from corru%tionB To s%eak our truthB To re%resent ourselves and each other fairlyB To educate ourselves and each otherB To hel% %eo%le lift themselves out of %overty and diseaseB To work to develo% our

country in an e;uita&le fashionB To res%ect laws and a&ide &y themB !nd to do these thin)s consistently" Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, 'hile we have made si)nificant strides as a #ation, let*s face the reality" 'e are yet to reach the romised Land" :ver the last five decades, we have missed o%%ortunities to &e the &est of the &est in the world, with excellent economic %lans and resources ex%orted to &uild other nations" :ur infrastructure has not &een sufficient to meet our develo%ment needs" :ur social and %olitical environment has &een susce%ti&le to mani%ulation and %ractices that have made it difficult to reduce ine;uality in a meanin)ful manner" This, in turn, led to disenchantment, insecurity and sufferin)" (n addition, our com%etin) ethnic and %olitical interests connived to override the national interest, with serious re%ercussions" This, tra)ically, has on occasion led to violence and loss of life and %ro%erty" /ut in 6353, we as a nation chose to renew the faith with our foundin) fathers" (n 6353, we )ave ourselves a <onstitution that affirms the soverei)nty of the %eo%le of Kenya, and %uts our destiny in our hands" The charter instituted e;uality and devolution" 'e a)reed on how we shall &ake and share the national cake" Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, The challen)es we face will &e overcome more si)nificantly when devolution effectively works and the counties %lay their intended role in our develo%ment efforts" The counties are the new centres of )rowth, resources mo&ili,ation and utili,ation" The CD counties must catalytically revam% our develo%ment as they em&race a strait of healthy com%etition in their develo%ment initiatives" ( am very im%ressed &y some of the initiatives taken &y county )overnments to attract investors and mo&ili,e local investment in their counties" ( encoura)e every Kenyan to take a key interest and invest in their home county" 'e should %ut money into trade and investment activities in the res%ective rural communities" This will ensure that our youn) %eo%le have meanin)ful work to do and thus have no ener)y left to en)a)e in undesira&le social activities" $en and women who have excelled in various fields should re)ularly visit their rural communities and en)a)e with %rimary and secondary school students and serve as role models as well as mentors for our youn) %eo%le" Excellencies, Ladies and GentlemenB (n the recent %ast, coal, oil and other mineral resources with commercial via&ility have &een discovered in different %arts of our country" This is an o%%ortunity for Kenya to lift itself to the next level of develo%ment throu)h the ex%loitation of these resources" The Government is workin) on %olicies to )uide the ex%loitation of these minerals and hel% us avoid the %itfalls of other mineral rich countries

where they have caused serious environmental de)radation, conflict and social decay" The #ational Government will colla&orate with <ounty Governments where the minerals have &een discovered to ensure that the &enefits accruin) from such minerals also reach the local %o%ulation" 'e have, in this re)ard, develo%ed a framework coverin) the minin), %rocessin) and sale of the minerals" !nd we are committed to strictly a&idin) with that framework" (, however, wish to warn those incitin) local %o%ulation to violence in areas where these minerals have &een discovered that the full force of the law will &e used a)ainst them" Le)itimate concerns and )rievances should &e resolved throu)h %eaceful means" Eiolence and chaos will not &enefit any&ody" Eiolence will only undermine the full ex%loitation of those resources and therefore delay the develo%mental &enefits that we all should en1oy" Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, The world over, it has &een %roved that national unity is critical to the socio+economic advancement of any society" #ational unity is one of my most %assionate )oals" ( %led)e to you today, fellow countrymen and women, that national unity and inte)ration will &e %riority #um&er :ne of my !dministration" 'e must all &e ready to fi)ht a)ainst ne)ative ethnicity" For too lon) our %eo%le have suffered from this disease &ut now it is time to say we are tired and we must eliminate it" Ladies and Gentlemen, ( envision a Kenya where we will all &e %roud of our diverse herita)e and cultures &ut where we unite around our common as%irations as Kenyans, as enshrined in the <onstitution" 'e have to acce%t Kenya is our motherlandB the land where Kenyans of all nationalities and of all reli)ious faith can live to)ether as &rothers and sisters" !s we indicated in our $anifesto, the -u&ilee Government &elieves in one KenyaB a Kenya where every citi,en, whoever they are and wherever they live will have the o%%ortunity to succeed and %ros%er, free of discrimination" :ur shared aim is to end meanin)less ethnic tensions and rivalry and to unite all our citi,ens" ( am determined to %rovide leadershi% towards the attainment of this no&le o&1ective" ! united Kenya has tremendous %otential for )rowth and develo%ment" (ndeed, Kenya is not a collection of C6 tri&es who have to live to)ether" Kenya is one nation, assem&led &y divine %rovidence and held to)ether for the last 23 years &y our common will and &elief in a collective &ri)hter future for our children, our future )enerations, and ourselves" Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, !frica has always stood &y Kenya as we seek inte)ration and )rowth, and we, in return, will always stand &y !frica @ which, is now at the centre of our economic %olicy" !s ( stated at my inau)uration earlier this year and, and a)ain when (

addressed the !frican Fnion in my maiden s%eech, Kenya*s national interest is anchored on re)ional and continental inte)ration" This year, the !frican Fnion, like Kenya, is cele&ratin) its 23th!nniversary" (n 5789, when our %ioneers esta&lished the :!F, their vision was to realise %olitical, social and economic inte)ration as a means of achievin) %ros%erity, %eace and )rowth" <onsidera&le %ro)ress has &een made towards re)ional and continental inte)ration, &ut a lot still remains to &e done" (n Eastern !frica, the E!< artner States have committed to a customs unionB achievin) a monetary unionB and eventually, our aim is to achieve a %olitical federation" <oncurrently the E!< in %artnershi% with the <ommon $arket for Eastern and Southern !frica ><:$ES!? and the Southern !frica 4evelo%ment <ommunity >S!4<? are ne)otiatin) a Tri%artite Free Trade !rea" The hi)h )rowth rate that !frica has attained was s%urred &y %rudent macro+economic %olicies ado%ted &y a lar)e num&er of !frican states, the relative %eace and security that %revails on most of the continent, the re)ional inte)ration that en)enders )rowin) intra+!frican trade and &uoyant commodity %rices" (n order to sustain and enhance this momentum, it is a&solutely necessary to accelerate the im%lementation of the continental inte)ration a)enda es%ecially as relates to infrastructure develo%ment, food security, and the free movement of %eo%le, )oods and services" To further dee%en our commitments to the continent, today ( announce five initiatives on our re)ional and continental a)enda" First, Kenya will contri&ute to a &ri)ade to &e %art of the =a%id =es%onse mechanism as %art of the !frica eace and Security !rchitecture a)reed durin) the last !ssem&ly of !F Heads of State and Government" Second, Kenya will cham%ion @ with our !frican &rothers and sisters @ the free movement of %ersons on the continent" Today, we announce that any !frican %ass%ort will o&tain a visa on arrival in Kenya &ased on a %rinci%le of reci%rocity" Fnder these arran)ements, any !frican visitor may stay for u% to 8 months" The only exce%tion to this rule will &e when re)ional security could &e com%romised" Third, to sustain and enhance the momentum, we in !frica have ex%erienced in the %ast decade, dee%er investment in intra+!frican trade" (n this re)ard, Kenya is ready to %artner with our sisterly countries in the southern, central, western and northern re)ions, to fast+track the im%lementation of the recently ado%ted <ontinental Free Trade !rea" Kenya has also offered to %rovide technical su%%ort to the %rocess" Fourth, Kenya is ready to cham%ion the fast trackin) of the im%lementation of the !frican (nfrastructure ro)ramme within the Eastern !frica re)ion" Fifth, Kenya offers to work with fellow !frican countries to steer the im%lementation of an inte)rated air trans%ort and !frican o%en skies %olicy in line

with the Yamoussoukro decision" 'e &elieve these measures are im%ortant to add im%etus to !frica*s )rowth efforts, and show our dee% commitment to our continent" Let me also acknowled)e that day &y day, !frica is takin) )reater res%onsi&ility for security on the continent" !frica*s %eace &uildin) efforts in the Sudan, and the 4emocratic =e%u&lic of the <on)o, are testimony to a new a%%roach that will serve our continent well" Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, !s !frica )rows, so Kenya )rows" 'e are takin) radical ste%s to hel% our country )row faster" $y Government is committed to %ursuin) a new &rand of %olitics" 'e are committed to fosterin) an o%en, tolerant and hardworkin) Kenya with modern institutions and adherin) to )ood )overnance" To do this, all leaders must &e ready to &e held accounta&le for their actions" (t is the res%onsi&ility of Kenyans to scrutini,e their leaders and ;uestion their %erformance and character" $y Government in colla&oration with Kenyans will )et tou)h with those who use their %ositions of %ower to ac;uire ill+)otten wealth" Therefore, the now fully constituted Ethics and !nti+<orru%tion <ommission must utili,e its constitutionally )iven mandate to investi)ate and &rin) to &ook all those involved in corru%tion" (n the meantime, ( ur)e all Kenyans of )oodwill not to )ive any &ri&es or otherwise %artici%ate in corru%t activities" Ladies and Gentlemen, (n &uildin) our nation and takin) it to the level of develo%ment where we are today,( cannot for)et to a%%reciate the su%%ort we have )otten from our develo%ment %artners" 'e are %articularly )rateful for the su%%ort that has )one into &uildin) our infrastructure that is critical in enhancin) the com%etitiveness of our economy" 'e do &elieve we have more to coo%erate with our international friends for the &etterment not of Kenya alone &ut the world as a whole" However, we have a messa)e for them" (t is im%ortant to reco)nise that !frica has come of a)e" !frica seeks constructive %artnershi%" 'e will em&race %artnershi%s &ased on mutual res%ect and win+win scenarios" 'e will not acce%t %artnershi%s that do not reco)ni,e we also have the intellectual ca%acity to en)a)e on e;ual terms" !frica has a voice" Fifty years after inde%endence, !frica demands that its voice must &e heard" (n conclusion, ( &elieve that Kenya is on the ver)e of &ecomin) a middle income country with hi)h standards of livin) as laid out in our Eision 6393"To achieve this desired o&1ective, it is critical that %olitical, reli)ious and &usiness leaders exercise res%onsi&le leadershi% and for all of us to res%ect the rule of law and work hard for the &enefit of our country"

( want to )ive an e;uivocal commitment to the %rotection of lives and %ro%erty of KenyansBto the economic %ros%erity for all of usB to inclusivity and e;uita&le )rowth that leaves no one &ehindB and to total adherence to the rule of law" !nd you on your %art as Kenyans, ( ex%ect you to remain united and to adhere to )ood )overnance as the key %illars on which to &uild a stron)er %ros%erous and e;uita&le Kenya" The culture of Gmali ya uma la,ima iishe kutoka sasa*" :ur forefathers succeeded in the stru))le for our freedom &ecause they were united and a&ove all they were men and women of inte)rity" They &elieved in sharin) e;ually even one )rain of mai,e, if that is all that was availa&le" Therefore, as we cele&rate 23 years of inde%endence, let each of us make a %ersonal commitment to a 1ust, cohesive, and carin) nation" This is what our forefathers fou)ht for" This is what we owe them" This is what we owe the future )enerations and ourselves" Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, ( Thank YouB God /less YouB !nd God /less Kenya"