[President Uhuru Kenyatta during a past UNGA event. He is believed to have been keen with October polls thus missing a vital meeting. Courtesy: The Star]
President Uhuru Kenyatta failed for the second year to attend the United Nations General Assembly addressed by US President Donald Trump.
The Head of State instead sent a lean team led by Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed and Kenya's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Macharia Kamau.
According to the Chief of Staff Joseph Kinyua, President Kenyatta's absence in the meeting was occasioned by the repeat polls slated for October 17.
In a memo sent to Cabinet Secretaries and Principal Secretaries on Tuesday, Kinyua noted that the president would instead be represented by 'a small delegation.'
“This is to inform you (Cabinet secretaries) that our participation at the 72th UN General Assembly will comprise of a small team constituted from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs led by CS Mohammed,” the memo said in part.
The standoff on the Presidential election following the nullification of the August 8 polls by the Supreme Court has complicated issues for the Presidency.