President Uhuru Kenyatta urges university students to shun tribalism
President Uhuru Kenyatta arrives in a lecture hall at the University of Nairobi's College of Agriculture and Veterinary Services, at the Upper Kabete campus on August 23, 2016. PHOTO | PSCU
What you need to know:
- The institute will be a global training centre in environmental governance and its linkages with peace and democracy.
- President Kenyatta said the late Maathai’s legacy will live on, adding that she is the best role model for all Kenyans.
President Uhuru Kenyatta has urged university students to shun tribalism and work together as Kenyans to achieve their dreams.
He also called on the students to abandon tribal organisations and instead yearn for the higher national ideals of progress and unity.
“The most important thing is for each one of you to get a job after graduating and that will not be determined by where you come from,” said the President.
The President, who answered questions from the students on leadership and youth policies, said the youth will not achieve leadership on the basis of ethnicity.
He urged the students to promote unity not only in Kenya but also in the region.
President Kenyatta was addressing students at University of Nairobi's Upper Kabete campus on Tuesday after laying the foundation stone for the Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace and Environmental Studies.
The institute will be a global training centre in environmental governance and its linkages with peace and democracy.
The construction of the institute, which will cost Sh1.4 billion, is being funded by the Kenyan government and the African Development Bank.
President Uhuru Kenyatta unveils the commemorative plaque for the new Wangari Maathai Institute Complex at the University of Nairobi's Upper Kabete campus.
PHOTO |PSCU
President Kenyatta said Prof Maathai had a vision to establish such an institute before she passed away.
“Before her death, Wangari had conceived the idea of establishing the institute and shared the idea with the university leadership and her friends across the world,” said the President.
President Kenyatta said the late Maathai’s legacy will live on, adding that she is the best role model for all Kenyans who want to contribute to the progress of the country.
“I am encouraged to learn this institute is already playing a critical role in reducing conflicts in communities by involving women in green energy technology and in environmental conservation,” said the President.
Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i, his Environment counterpart Judy Wakhungu and university officials, led by Vice-Chancellor Peter Mbithi, attended the function.
