Kenyan and Tanzanian Members of Parliament came together in song during the National Prayer Breakfast held at Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi.
The joint performance, led by Kenya's Bunge Choir under the direction of South Mugirango MP Silvanus Osoro, featured the Swahili hymn "Bwana ni Mchungaji Wangu" ("The Lord is My Shepherd").
Osoro invited the Tanzanian delegation, which included a former Prime Minister, to join their Kenyan and Ugandan counterparts on stage.
"We have the Ugandan delegation, but we also want to invite our Tanzanian counterparts to join us in this special song. They were with us yesterday for dinner with the former Tanzanian Prime Minister," Osoro announced from the podium.
"I am very specific on Tanzania because Your Excellency (Ruto), we did practise with them the song that we are going to sing from around 10:30 pm," Osoro added.
The event occurred amid heightened diplomatic tensions between Kenya and Tanzania, following the detention and deportation of Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi and Ugandan activist Agather Atuhaire from Dar es Salaam.
Reports indicate the activists were allegedly tortured and held incommunicado before being deported, prompting widespread condemnation from Kenya, regional bodies, and international organisations.
In his address, President William Ruto extended an olive branch to Tanzania and Uganda, stating:
"To our neighbours from Tanzania, if we have wronged you in any way, we ask for your forgiveness. If there is any misstep that we have done, we apologise," Ruto said, extending a similar message to Uganda.
"If there is anything that Kenyans have done that is not right, we want to apologise."
Ruto also emphasised that Kenya was committed to fostering regional relationships that would help "make our country great."
This, even as online tensions between netizens of both countries continue, with banter flying under the hashtag #KenyaVsTanzania.
The National Prayer Breakfast, an annual event blending politics, faith, and music, has historically served as a platform for promoting unity and reconciliation.
In 2023, leaders across political divides clasped hands in prayer following a tumultuous election period.
This year's gathering continued that tradition, with music, faith, and diplomacy sharing the same stage.
