Your Excellency Mwai Kibaki, CGH, MP;
Your Excellency Daniel arap Moi;
Your Excellencies Visiting Heads of State & Government;
Chief Justice Willy Mutunga;
Invited Guests;
Fellow Kenyans,
Let me begin by thanking all heads of state present and the representatives of heads of state for choosing to be here as a symbol of your continued support and goodwill towards Kenyans.
I particularly note, with gratitude,the large presence of our brothers and sisters from across the continent. This is a clear indication of your commitment to the Pan- 1 African agenda.
You have bestowed a great honor on me and our country by being here.
On behalf of the Kenyan people I welcome all of you to Kenya. Karibuni Sana! Let me also acknowledge with gratitude and respect the distinguished service of my predecessors.
President Mwai Kibaki, a true statesman and a great leader who over the past 10 years has laid a firm foundation for the future prosperity of our country.
Asante sana Mzee. Shukrani nyingi sana. I pay tribute also to former President Moi who is with us today and thank him for his years of leadership and dedication to our nation. Asante Mzee!
I also want to remind the International Community that for the last fifty years, Kenya has been one of the most engaged members and one of the most prolific co-authors of international treaties and instruments.
I assure you again that under my leadership,Kenya will strive to uphold our international obligations, so long as these are founded on the well-established principles of mutual respect and reciprocity.
Central to our continued contribution to the international community, will be the understanding that the world is made up of many countries, cultures, political experiences and world-views.
We must remember that no one country or group of countries should have control or monopoly on international institutions or the 27 interpretation of international treaties. While each state has a right to its own view, it must respect the fact that it holds just one view amongst many in the community of nations.
Fellow Kenyans,
Today , work begins. The time has come, not to ask what community we come from but rather what dreams we share. The time has come not to ask what political party we belong to but rather what partnerships we can build.
The time has come to ask , not who we voted for,but what future we are devoted to.
Fellow Kenyans we must move forward together. Let us remember that although we may not be bound together by ethnicity, or cultural practices or religious conviction – our kinship rests solidly upon the fact that we 28 have all been adopted by Kenya’s borders;we are all children of this nation, we are all bound to one constitution which calls us to rise above our individual ideologies and march to our national anthem.
That anthem reminds us of the fundamental principles upon which our prosperity must be built. It calls us to reflect on the power of peace; to recall the supreme value of freedom; to believe, once more, in the beauty of service and brotherhood; to aspire each day, to the dignity that results from hard work, and to contend for the hope that justice brings.vBrothers and sisters;
Fellow Kenyans – let us move forward, together, in the spirit of our anthem and in the spirit of our constitution being confident that if we turn neither to the 29 left nor to the right of our national values,we, as a people, will see the promised land of prosperity that our for bearers set out for.
God bless you, God bless the Republic of Kenya and God bless Africa.