Emily Ruto’s burial offered rare glimpse of what Kenya needs

NAIROBI: The burial service of Emily Ruto, daughter of Bomet governor Isaac Ruto, though sombre, provided a rare spectacle where national leaders from both sides of the political divide shared a podium and the grief of their colleague on a united front, representing one country that most Kenyans would like to see on a daily basis.

The question that easily comes to mind is; why do we get united by grief yet rattle sabres in peacetime when the need for unity should even be greater than at any other time?

It was gratifying to see that leaders, for once, did not use the unfortunate situation to propagate their aggressive political stands and throw barbs at each other to further fragment the country along tribal and party lines.

With the rising cases of insecurity across the country, the greatest justice that our elected leaders can do to the country is put their ideological differences aside, forge a united front and devise means that can help counter the activities of those hell-bent on throwing peace out of the window for selfish ends.

Similarly, the rising cases of political intolerance do not bode well for the country since miscreants in our midst take advantage of the attendant weakness to wreak havoc on the populace.

By continually distracting each other in the contest for power and dominance, both the ruling Jubilee coalition and the Opposition Cord alliance are contributing to the falling social, political and economic standards of the country.

Hate can only succeed in negating all the gains that the country has made over the last half a century following the attainment of independence.

While the truce brought about by the demise of Emily Ruto still holds, we would like to urge the belligerent Jubilee and Cord to find a common stand that will facilitate dialogue and resolve the myriad problems facing Kenyans.

The principals of the two parties should start by talking to, not at, each other.

Ultimately, Kenya belongs to all of us and we must build it in peace and unity.