“LET us not see forgiveness as weak. It’s a sign of great strength.”
After making this poignant statement at the national prayer breakfast meeting at Nairobi’s Safari Park on Thursday, Kenyan President Uhuru went on to do something remarkable - he hugged his political opposition leader, Raila Odinga.
For too long the people of Kenya have suffered the fate of the proverbial grass as these two elephants battled.
The death toll after elections is usually high.
Enough, and no more.
“We have campaigned against one other and I ask for your forgiveness,” President Kenyatta said to Odinga. Odinga responded that in a democracy such as Kenya it was normal for people to disagree, but warned that the disagreements should not lead to bloodshed.
“When Nelson Mandela was released from prison he bore no bitterness, because if he didn’t forgive his enemies he would still be in prison,” Odinga said.
He said that if Mandela and apartheid president FW de Klerk could see past their problems and shake hands, and political rivals such as former Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat could shake hands, why not us?
This was Kenya’s first step to peace. Further dialogue can only bode well for the welfare and development of the country.