President Uhuru Kenyatta shook hands with fiery Embakasi East MP Babu Owino in Parliament on Wednesday as he delivered the State of The Nation (SoTN) address.
Extending a message of reconciliation, the President affirmed that it was time for Kenyans to apologize to each other for the division caused by the 2017 Presidential Election before asking them to come together.
He appeared pleasantly surprised when lawmakers in the house immediately started shaking hands, with Babu and another MP walking up to him to shake his.
"Neither peace nor unity are given, we must work for them. I say so because I believe last year taught me that if we don't put an end to unrestrained political competition, it will put an end to Kenya," he stated.
"Let us each apologize for our words and for the anger and malice... from Lodwar to Lunga Lunga, let us shake hands and embrace our neighbours," Uhuru continued.
President Uhuru Kenyatta and Babu Owino shake hands during #SOTNKe2018 in a sign of reconciliation. pic.twitter.com/ftL2KS1U8b
— David Mbewa (@MbewaDavid) May 2, 2018
Babu clashed several times with Mr Kenyatta during the electioneering period and was at one point arrested and charged after seemingly insulting the President at a rally.
In his speech, Uhuru vowed that never again would Kenyans lose their lives or property because of political differences.
He thanked National Super Alliance (NASA) leader Raila Odinga for his statesmanship in reference to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) they unveiled on March 9.
"We (Kenyatta & Odinga) did not immediately solve all of Kenya's pressing problems. We did not see eye to eye on everything. However, unity does not necessarily mean unanimity," he declared.
Uhuru maintained that they wanted to leave a different Kenya for future generations where ethnic identity was not tied to political identity.
"We need to change so our children can grow in a different Kenya. Our ethnic identity does not need to be our political identity," he affirmed.
[caption caption="President Uhuru Kenyatta with Babu Owino on 02/05/2018"]
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