Former President Uhuru Kenyatta has said he is ready to oversee the handover of Jubilee Party leadership following a High Court ruling upholding provisions of the Presidential Retirement Benefits Act governing the political activities of retired presidents.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, September 15, Kenyatta said he had received the court’s decision with respect and viewed it as providing clarity on the long-running question of his continued leadership of Jubilee Party.
The former president said the ruling should not be interpreted as barring him from participating in the country’s political affairs, but as defining the limits surrounding formal party leadership for retired presidents.
“He notes that the court’s ruling is not a restriction on his political life; it is a reaffirmation of our democratic maturity,” the statement from his office said.
Kenyatta, who served as Kenya’s fourth president between 2013 and 2022, said leadership went beyond holding a formal position.
“Leadership is not the chair one occupies; it is the trust one cultivates,” he said.
His office also addressed the delayed transfer of the Jubilee Party chairmanship, saying the process had been complicated by an internal dispute that required legal interpretation before it could proceed.
According to the statement, the delay was “not stalled by reluctance, but by a contested internal dispute that required legal clarity.”
“With the court’s guidance, that path is now clear,” his office said.
Kenyatta said he was willing to have the transition completed transparently and in accordance with Jubilee Party’s internal rules.
“The former President affirms his absolute willingness to see the handover completed openly, lawfully, and in strict accordance with the Party’s constitution,” the statement said.
He added that he expected the party’s internal processes to proceed without further obstacles.
The statement signals a potential end to uncertainty over Kenyatta’s formal position in Jubilee, which has faced internal leadership disputes since he left office.
Kenyatta said he welcomed what he described as a new phase for the former ruling party, insisting that the transition should be anchored in the law and Jubilee’s constitution.
He said the next chapter should be “built on the rule of law, guided by the Party’s constitution, and carried forward by the next generation of leadership.”
The High Court ruling cited by Kenyatta’s office upheld Section 6 of the Presidential Retirement Benefits Act. According to the former president’s statement, the provision guides the transition of retired presidents from formal political party leadership.
Kenyatta’s response now shifts attention to Jubilee’s internal processes and who will eventually take over the party’s leadership.
His office did not, however, give a timeline for the handover or name the person expected to succeed him, saying only that the transition would be conducted in accordance with the party constitution.
Attention will also shift to Kenyatta’s position as chairperson of the Azimio la Umoja Coalition.
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