By Few days from now to reach the day when Kenyans will be voting for their next leaders, it will be on August 8 2017.
As some other countries have before done, Kenya also organized a presidential debate where presidential candidates meet to lay out ones agenda and policies he/she has for the country after earning the seat.
The debates are facilitated by moderators that are entitled to asking several questions to the candidates, as they provide answers to the nation.
On Monday 24 July 2017, a presidential debate was held. The debate was organized by Debates Kenya Limited and broadcast from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa live on all major television and radio stations.
The debate was between Uhuru Kenyatta, the Jubilee Party leader and Raila Odinga, the NASA flag bearer.
Uhuru Kenyatta, the country’s president and a candidate too, did not show up for the debate. On the other side, Raila Odinga, Uhuru’s strongest opposition presidential aspirant attended and enjoyed the 90 minutes talk time by himself, without any interruption.
Raila answered questions on his time in government over the past few decades, as Kenyans flooded social media to vent against Uhuru. Kenyans also congratulated Raila on possibly swaying undecided voters to his side.
Addressing the press on Tuesday about why he did not attend the debate, President Kenyatta gave several reasons including one where he said that “the debate was a waste of time”, adding that he had “nothing to debate with Raila”.
Kenyatta was reported saying that he could not debate with someone who does not have an agenda for the country.
“Do you want me to spend time responding to Raila or commissioning projects? I decided that he will debate alone because I had nothing to debate with him,” the President said, during his campaign rally in Kiandu, Nyeri County.
President Kenyatta also said that his development record speaks for its self.
He added that Raila pretends to be saint when being watched, but he is a politician who divides communities when no one is watching.
“He changes his script when he is being watched by Kenyans but during his campaigns, he divides communities. No wonder I could not debate him,” said Uhuru, as quoted by journalists.
Uhuru Kenyatta finally urged Kenyans to turn out in large numbers and vote for him in the August election.
Reporter: Shamilah Namuddu