MURANG’A, Kenya — Trade Cabinet Secretary Lee Kinyanjui has called for restraint and unity in Mt Kenya, urging politicians and communities to keep politics separate from social and cultural events, warning that rising intolerance is fueling divisions and threatening national cohesion.
Speaking during the burial of former minister Jamleck Kamau’s mother, Kinyanjui decried the targeting of political leaders at community gatherings, saying ridicule and attacks undermine efforts to unite the region.
“How do you claim to want unity, yet when we come to mourn, you ridicule us?” he asked.
“That is the biggest contradiction.”
Kinyanjui stressed that funerals, churches, and other communal events must remain neutral spaces where disagreement does not escalate into violence or humiliation.
The ceremony was attended by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, who has previously faced attacks at political and church events.
‘Uongo’, ‘Wantam’- CS Lee Kinyanjui heckled by mourners during funeral service in Murang’a #ViralVideos
Pointing to the attack on former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s farm, Kinyanjui noted that the perpetrators were not outsiders, but members of the Kikuyu community, adding that the hostility from that period continues to fester.
“The enmity we planted then has now come all the way to here,” he said.
He appealed to communities to allow leaders with differing views to speak freely without fear.
“If there is someone you are not on good terms with, let them speak and go home. Planning that someone should be silenced or stoned is wrong,” Kinyanjui said.
The Cabinet Secretary warned that unchecked political intolerance has turned villages into “battle zones,” eroding social harmony and threatening peaceful coexistence.
Turning to the 2027 elections, he cautioned against the notion that political power belongs to any one community.
“Those who claim one term is their right must remember that voting is nationwide, not confined to one region,” he said.
Kinyanjui called for respectful debate even amid strong political differences.
“In politics, we don’t have to agree. You can have your conviction and allow me to have mine, and Kenya will move forward,” he said.
The CS reiterated his condemnation of past political violence, noting that he has publicly denounced killings linked to government politics.
He is among the leaders appointed to the Cabinet following the Gen Z uprising, which left tens dead and hundreds injured.
However, Kinyanjui’s remarks were met with boos and jeers from some mourners, with chants of ‘wantam’ and accusations of government neglect highlighting frustrations over unfulfilled promises in Murang’a County.
