Former president Uhuru Kenyatta on Sunday, April 9, attended a church service at St Francis Catholic Church in Nyali in Mombasa.
In pictures shared online, the retired president was kneeling down together with the other congregants at the church in prayer, as Christians around the world marked Easter Sunday.
He exuded a cheerful demeanour as he clapped to the choir singing together with the rest of the church and was accompanied by former First Lady Margaret Kenyatta.
That was the first public appearance of the former president since former Prime Minister Raila Odinga accepted the call by President Ruto for dialogue over the constitution of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) on April 2.
The former President’s name featured prominently as many analysts and political insiders credited him with having brokered the ceasefire between President William Ruto and Azimio leader Raila Odinga.
Many held that Uhuru brought the two together because he had access to both of them amid claims by the Ruto side that the former Head of State was funding demonstrations.
Uhuru was also caught in the thick of the demonstrations after protesters invaded his Northlands City farm cutting down trees and stealing 1,400 heads of sheep valued approximately at Ksh70 million.
In a separate incident on Thursday, March 30, individuals attempted to raid Kedong Ranch associated with former President Uhuru Kenyatta at the border of Narok East.
However, in a State of the Nation address on April 2, President William Ruto asked Azimio party leader Raila Odinga to call off the mass protests agreeing to resolve the composition of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) selection panel.
“I urge my brother Raila Odinga and the opposition to call off the demonstrations and to give this bipartisan approach a chance to take the country forward," Ruto stated.
In response, Raila called off the demonstrations scheduled for April 3 and the subsequent ones.
"In view of the foregoing, we stand down our demonstrations for Monday, April 3, 2023.
Ruto had since instructed Ichung'wah and his Senate counterpart Aaron Cheruiyot to establish a framework for the bi-partisan approach to address some of the issues raised by Odinga.
On the other hand, Azimio picked a team of seven legislators to represent them in the scheduled bi-partisan parliamentary engagements.
