President Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday, July 5 bashed Starehe MP Charles Njagua as a non-visionary leader whose thinking is limited to “village politics”.
Speaking in Chato, Tanzanian President John Magufuli’s rural home, on Friday, July 5, President Kenyatta called out the first-time MP for asking Nairobi traders to “beat up” and “kick out” Tanzanian business operators from the Kenyan capital city’s markets.
Njagua, alias Jaguar, made those remarks two weeks ago, sparking a diplomatic row between the two countries.
“You know some politicians are speaking first even before thinking. You’ll find somebody’s thoughts are only centered around the village he was born and brought up in; he thinks that the world begins and ends with his village, [lack of exposure is bad],” said President Kenyatta addressing residents of Chato.
“You’re hearing some of them yapping about inexistent conflicts. [As a leader], how can you tell a Tanzanian that he or she cannot do business in Kenya? How can you tell a Tanzanian that he or she cannot walk freely in Kenya? How can you tell a Tanzanian that he cannot look for a wife in Kenya? Is that even possible?” posed the Head of State.
“At the same time, you [Tanzanians] cannot stop a Kenyan from visiting Tanzania, or doing business in Tanzania. You cannot stop a Kenyan from seducing a woman living in Chato. That is the East Africa we want; not the East Africa run by people who have small brains; and are guided by backward thinking, tribalism and stupidity,” said President Kenyatta in an angry tone.
“We want an East Africa run by visionaries; people who know that when Kenya progresses economically, so is Tanzania, and vice versa; people who refrain from dividing East Africans along useless lines.”
President Kenyatta said one of his greatest wishes before he retires in 2022 is to leave behind a united East Africa.
“We are neighbours; we speak one language, share borders and are closely-knitted. So, when somebody tries to cause divisions between us, will he or she really manage? He or she cannot!
“As leaders, we have ensured that we have gotten rid of any kind of barriers that risk stopping our people from trading with each other and intermarrying. One of the most-effective ways of bringing an end to inter-country wrangles is through intermarriage. When a baby is born out of such a couple, it won’t be identified as a citizen of only one country,” said Uhuru.
Njagua, who was arrested and charged for inciting the public against Tanzanian and Ugandan traders in Nairobi, was last Wednesday freed on a Ksh500, 000 cash bail by the Milimani Law Courts.
Until his release, Njagua had spent seven days detained at Kileleshwa Police Station.
