President Uhuru Kenyatta. [Photo/ thebigissue.co.ke]
President Uhuru Kenyatta will on Tuesday take the oath of office to lead Kenya for the next five years.
The swearing-in, according to University of Nairobi's Prof Winnie Mitullah, gives Uhuru the vital crutch he needs to start undoing the gridlock into which the country had tragically slipped.
In an interview with the Saturday Nation, the university don said the fourth Head of State has an uphill battle in his final term.
"That Kenya is divided right now is not in doubt. It is all about exclusion. We need to begin here and say that anybody who constitutes this nation feels included," she said.
Mitullah said Uhuru must gather all efforts and lead the nation to healing after divisive elections, which she said, have torn apart the fabric that once held the people together.
"Now, people are so frustrated and feel so excluded, they are talking about secession," she noted.
The professor said the Jubilee Party leader must also strive to form an all-inclusive, irrespective of ethnic backgrounds.
She said this will end ethnic resentment which is a major threat to co-existence and national unity.
"He must also address the problem of tribalism which if ignored, will one day blow up and none of us will be able to address it," Mitullah warned.