What to expect from Uhuru Kenyatta's address to the nation

President Uhuru Kenyatta is today afternoon scheduled to make his annual State of the Nation address to Parliament, the first since his re-election in two rounds of elections last year.

The president is legally required to address a joint sitting of the Senate and the National Assembly at least once a year and has used the event in the past to make momentous announcements.

RAILA PACT

Last year, with Parliament nearing the end of its term and elections around the corner, President Kenyatta used the speech to outline the achievements of his first term.

He also included a promise, which would be severely tested over the next few months, to ensure the elections are held in a conducive atmosphere and the electoral commission given the support it needed.

With the elections behind him and the resulting dispute over the elections defused by the agreement with Raila Odinga, now known as the handshake, the President could use this year’s speech to elaborate on his plans for his last term.

While he has listed his priorities as universal health coverage, food security, increased manufacturing and housing, he is yet to state exactly how his Big Four, as they have come to be known, will be achieved.

President Kenyatta is also yet to elaborate on the practical steps to be taken after his agreement with Mr Odinga.

LAW CHANGE

The duo named Paul Mwangi and Martin Kimani as the heads of the team to lead the process and a 14-member team has already been named.

But with President Kenyatta advocating for focus on economic growth and peace as Mr Odinga and Deputy President William Ruto trading opposing views on the proposal to amend the Constitution, the reforms process appears to have been jeopardized.

Still, today’s State of the Nation address gives President Kenyatta an opportunity to make his stand clear on the proposal to amend the Constitution.

In 2015, President Kenyatta used the State of the Nation address to announce a bold new purge on corruption, which he started off by suspending five Cabinet secretaries, principal secretaries and the Head of the Civil Service.

That action would result in 300 people being charged with corruption-related offences but none of the Cabinet secretaries suspended, and eventually quietly let go, have been convicted of any crime.

Of the five, only Michael Kamau, who was the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, has charges hanging over his head.