Former President Uhuru Kenyatta has confirmed he will relinquish his position as leader of the Jubilee Party, following a High Court decision handed down this week.
Justice Lawrence Mugambi's ruling, delivered on September 14, found that retired presidents are barred from holding a political party office for more than six months after leaving office, though they remain free to take part in party activities more broadly.
Responding through the Office of the 4th President's Communications Secretary, Kenyatta described the ruling as evidence of Kenya's growing democratic institutions and said he would comply with it.
A statement from his office framed the decision as an opportunity rather than a setback: "the 4th President of the Republic of Kenya acknowledges that leadership is not the chair one occupies; it is the trust one cultivates."
Kenyatta also addressed the drawn-out question of who will take over the party chairmanship, explaining that the delay stemmed not from unwillingness on his part but from an unresolved internal dispute within Jubilee that needed legal resolution first. With the court's ruling now providing that clarity, he said, the way forward is open.
His office added that Kenyatta "welcomes this new chapter for Jubilee," pointing to the party's constitution and a new generation of leadership as the basis for the transition going forward.
The case that prompted the ruling was brought by a petitioner who argued Kenyatta's continued role violated Section 6 of the Presidential Retirement Benefits Act. In dismissing the petition, Justice Mugambi noted that former presidents hold a distinct political standing and could otherwise wield outsized influence over fair political competition. He also pointed to the historical context behind the 2003 law, which Parliament originally passed to stop former presidents from holding onto power indirectly through a successor.
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