Statecraft & Independence
Distinguished
Uhuru Kenyatta
born 1961
Kenya's fourth president, and the first sitting head of state to appear before the ICC
Distinguished is level 3 of 4 in the Kenya Hall of Fame: sustained excellence over a career, widely honoured at home. See how the levels work.
Why they are here
President from 2013 to 2022, son of the country's first president, who came to power while facing charges at the International Criminal Court and left it having handed over to the man who had been his own deputy and then his opponent.
Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta is the son of Jomo Kenyatta. He entered politics through KANU, lost the 2002 presidential election to Mwai Kibaki, and served as finance minister.
He won the presidency in 2013 and again in 2017 — the second time twice, after the Supreme Court annulled the first result for irregularities, the first time an African court had voided a presidential election, and ordered a rerun which the opposition boycotted. The confrontation that followed ended in March 2018 with a public handshake with Raila Odinga on the steps of Harambee House, which defused the crisis and reshaped Kenyan politics for the rest of his term.
His government built the standard gauge railway from Mombasa to Nairobi, expanded electricity connection sharply, and left the country with a debt burden that remains the central argument of Kenyan public finance. He stood down at the end of his second term as the constitution required, backed Odinga against his own deputy William Ruto, and handed over when Ruto won.
He won the presidency in 2013 and again in 2017 — the second time twice, after the Supreme Court annulled the first result for irregularities, the first time an African court had voided a presidential election, and ordered a rerun which the opposition boycotted. The confrontation that followed ended in March 2018 with a public handshake with Raila Odinga on the steps of Harambee House, which defused the crisis and reshaped Kenyan politics for the rest of his term.
His government built the standard gauge railway from Mombasa to Nairobi, expanded electricity connection sharply, and left the country with a debt burden that remains the central argument of Kenyan public finance. He stood down at the end of his second term as the constitution required, backed Odinga against his own deputy William Ruto, and handed over when Ruto won.
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