How Uhuru Kenyatta's laid-back nature shaped his time in the top seat

 

President Uhuru Kenyatta entertains children, police officers and State House staff during a Christmas party in 2017. [PSCU]

We have seen presidents dancing before. It’s usually in a formal setting, looking prim and proper, or swaying among traditional dancers on special occasions.  

With President Uhuru Kenyatta, however, if the DJ said “Ikibamba sana wapi nduru weuwee!” (if it’s really fun make some noise), you could bet he would be one to bust a move.

He starts with a subtle tap of the foot, nods to the music, and claps, with a huge smile on his face, until he can no longer contain himself and, much to the delight of the audience, join the performer on the dance floor.

He has joined a variety of performers, from children to NYS during their passing out parade as well as the akorino in Kasarani. They crowded around him and lifted his hands, much to the bewilderment of the security personnel who struggled to contain them.

Most recently, during Jubilee’s National Delegates Conference in February, he got on stage to dance and sing along to Iron Lion Zion by Bob Marley, which inspired the crowd to sing even louder.

The most memorable one, especially for the youth, might be when he danced with the FBI crew. He had won over young people’s curiosity, but he had their attention when he finished the dance with the immensely popular dab and the song’s lyrics, bamba kura yako.

He was once captured singing along to Sauti Sol’s Sura Yako and had a relatable ‘oops’ reaction when he realised he was on the big screen singing, sura yako mzuri mama.

Approachable

Knowing he has a soft spot for music, artistes are often comfortable around him. Musician Bahati once had the President on his feet and went ahead to sit on Uhuru’s chair. He then sang Mama to First Lady Margaret Kenyatta.

It was an audacious move that shocked many, but the President simply laughed it off. He has proclaimed before that he loves reggae, and even went ahead to attend a concert headlined by his favourite band, UB40.

“I’m stuck in a certain age, my favourite musicians are UB40, Bob Marley, Gregory Isaacs...”, he once said when asked what his favourite music was. 

Several performers at events where the President has been present have found themselves inside the State House, getting a personal tour of the residence from him.

If he enjoys your performance, you can count Uhuru as one of your personal friends. Some who got presidential tours include eight-year-old musician Marc Smith, who performed at the Kenya Red Cross Society’s 50th anniversary at the KICC in 2015 and ended up riding in the presidential limousine to State House.

Scholarship

Daniel Owira, then a form two student, presented Otonglo Time at the 2013 annual drama festival winners concert at State House, Mombasa.

He started being referred to as the President’s son when he was awarded a scholarship through the Kenyatta Trust to cater for his school fees until university. The President joked Owira was now required to bring his report card to him at the end of every term.

The move endeared the president to a lot of Kenyans, and it would be one of the first instances where Kenyans realised this President was significantly different in terms of approachability.   

It wasn’t performers only who had this honour. He once gave six-year-old Omar Mohammed a tour of State House, Mombasa, after the boy amused him with a cheeky remark, saying he wanted to live with the President, who would be his father.

President Uhuru said he was welcome to State House and they would go to the beach to swim together, to which Omar replied, “Mimi niko na wewe usijali, calm down”, leaving the President and those around him in stitches.

President Uhuru also impressed Kenyans when he hosted the Kenya Sevens Team at State House in 2016 after they won in the eighth leg of the HSBC World Series in Singapore. He was a former rugby player, and when he hosted them, he participated in a dummy line out with the team. The rugby players hoisted him in the air for the move, resulting in a picture of the President that would have been hitherto unimaginable.

Then there is the dressing bit.

Kenyans hardly ever paid attention to what the President was wearing because it was always the same - a suit. In President Daniel Moi’s time, it would only be shocking if his suit didn’t have his signature rose on it. With President Mwai Kibaki, the shock might have been if his suits became close-fit.

Uhuru, however, broke the mold so much with the bold prints on his kitenge shirts that they have been the talk of the country several times, even being christened ‘Uhuru wa mashati’.

His shirts are made locally, boosting businesses such as Rivatex East Africa Limited, a textile factory in Eldoret. “Hope is inspired by what and how we dress. President Uhuru Kenyatta is our number one supporter,” read a tweet by Rivatex.

“I want to encourage employers who insist on formal wear by employees to ensure dress codes also include African attire,” the President said in his Labour Day address in May 2020.

Building Kenya

“Let us be proud to wear made-in-Kenya shirts and dresses. This will extend employment opportunities for thousands and encourage more farmers to plant cotton and invest in other fabrics, like wool, which we can easily produce locally.”

But it is not just the shirts. He once rocked skinny jeans when he jetted back from a trip to India. He also interacts closely with the common mwananchi and speaks the street slang. 

President Jomo Kenyatta once made news for addressing Parliament in Kiswahili. Addressing a President in sheng was previously unimaginable, much less the President speaking it himself.

President Kenyatta has however been interviewed a couple of times in sheng by Mbusii who at the end referred to him as orezzo, which is sheng for president. Mbusii earned himself a fist bump and a bro hug from the President. The President even used sheng himself when he said in the interview, “Nyi ni maboys wa mtaa. Msiruhusu mabuda wa politics walete ghasia kwenu.” (Don’t allow politicians to cause you trouble).

Many Kenyans casually wear a beaded bracelet of the national flag. Uhuru has severally shown his own bracelet, which gives off a sense of being a part of the national tribe.

Driving himself

He has also popped into his favourite nyama choma joint, Hayi-Hayi Butchery at Kenyatta Market without prior notice, to have a meal. On at least one of those occasions, he drove himself.

One of the proprietors said of his experience, “While I was working I heard people screaming at the car park and I did not know what it was. When I went to check, I found myself face to face with the President.”

As a result of his visit, the butchery was christened Ikulu Ndogo (small state house), with photos of his visit hanging on the walls, with the place where he sat bearing the words, Presidential Corner.

He was active on social media, especially Twitter, but he deactivated it due to the hostility on the platform.