Opposition leader Raila Odinga on Friday asked Kenyans not pass judgement on President Uhuru Kenyatta and himself because they come from prominent families.
Speaking during the requiem mass of former Maendeleo ya Wanawake chairperson Mama Jane Kiano, Raila stated that the president and himself did not come from dynasties, but they are people who struggled on their own.
Raila pointed out that they worked hard to achieve what they have today and further added that the dynasty tag used on them was unfair.
"You cannot now say Uhuru is a part of a dynasty. Jomo Kenyatta was just a pauper before he fought to be where he got," Raila stated.
"I am not part of any dynasty either. Jaramogi Oginga Odinga was just a pauper; you could say he was a hustler,” he added.
Speaking during a memorial service of the former chairperson of the Maendeleo ya Wanawake organisation Jane Kiano in Karen, the Opposition leader asked people to separate their achievements from their father's legacies.
”Raila is Raila the way he is and Uhuru is who he is because of himself, so you can’t divorce us on claims we come from dynasties,” the ODM Party leader stated.
The late Jane Kiano was eulogized as having made a tremendous contribution to women’s development in the country.
Some advocates of constitutional change have proposed the enactment of laws that restrict the country’s leadership roles from rotating between only two or three pre-eminent families.
Third way Alliance leader Ekuru Aukot on various occasions stated the election laws should such that even a little person from a little-known family can sprout to power.
