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In July 2019, President Uhuru Kenyatta visited Tanzania and was amazed by peacocks that were at the residence of the late President John Pombe Magufuli. At the time, Magufuli said the peacocks also seemed to like Uhuru and he had no option but to gift him.
“I have never donated them because they have a historical background but today I feel joy in my heart that it is only prudent to bless the person behind the joy,” he said. Adding: “Because of the good friendship I have with him and Kenya, I have been touched, I will give out four of these Peacocks which will be delivered to Nairobi”.
True to his word, the peacocks were delivered a month later through Tanzania High Commissioner to Kenya Dr Pindi Hazara Chana. At the time, Dr Chana commended President Kenyatta for his astute leadership adding that in her country, the peacocks signify love, honour and cherished friendship.
According to World Birds –Joy of Nature, a peacock is often associated with long life, leadership, beauty, sophistication, dignity, psychic vision, love and pride. In some works of literature, a peacock also symbolises eternal life and the resurrection because peacocks shed feathers every year, and they grow back to their glory and grandeur.
Interestingly, the peacock is first mentioned in the Bible in the time of Solomon. He used to send his vessels to distant countries, and they came back once in three years, "bringing gold, and silver, and ivory, and apes, and peacocks." That indicates that they are precious and associated with class.
Earlier this week, President Uhuru Kenyatta described the late Magufuli as an astute leader who was self-reliant and rarely depended on foreign aid. Kenyatta, who is also the current East African Community (EAC) chairman, said Dr Magufuli had shown that Africa can manage its own economy.
“In a very short span of time, President Magufuli has shown that we as Africans are able to disentangle ourselves from the dependence of foreigners and that we have the ability to manage our own economy and ensure that our people get what is rightful to them,” President Kenyatta said in Dodoma during Dr Magufuli’s requiem mass.
