President William Ruto has appealed to leaders to engage in peaceful politics.
He said it was backward to employ violence and destruction of property in politics.
He maintained that the time for competitive politics was over.
“We must agree that constructive ideas and issues should form the basis of our political equation. Not loss of life,” he said.
The President asked the police to act firmly to maintain law and order within the confines of the Constitution.
“The security of our nation is not negotiable,” he said.
He made the remarks on Thursday during the official opening of the Lamu County Commissioner’s Office in Mokowe.
The President also issued cheques to the local fishing community.
Present were Cabinet Secretaries Kindiki Kithure, Aisha Jumwa, Salim Mvurya, Governor Issa Timamy (Lamu), Abdulswamad Nassir (Mombasa), MPs Ruweida Obbo (Lamu East), Stanley Muthama (Lamu West), and Joseph Githuku (Lamu County).
President Ruto observed the Government will take stern action against parents who do not take their children to school.
He argued that the Government has invested heavily in education to ensure every Kenyan has an equal opportunity.
“Education is mandatory. It is a crime to keep your children at home if they have attained the age of going to school,” he said.
The President asked provincial administrators to shun politics and focus on their duties.
He said those in the political class will organise their politics around political groups without the help of those in the civil service.
“The involvement of chiefs and other provincial administrators in politics is archaic,” he said.
The President said the Government will work with the private sector to increase the acreage of land under agriculture to increase food production.
“We want to ensure this country is food secure,” he said.
He committed to empowering County Governments to strengthen devolution to offer quality services to the people.
He said that the Government will disburse that Shs 32B shareable revenue for counties for this month today.
Ms Jumwa said the government is implementing its development pledge to empower the people citing the successful rollout of the Hustler Fund.
“Let us continue borrowing and repaying Hustler Fund loans so that we can boost our hustles,” she said.
She cautioned Coast region counties against engaging in protests saying the people are only interested in development programmes that will lift them out of poverty.
Mr Mvurya said they will support the President in delivering the government’s development agenda.
He told the opposition to accept their fate and execute their duties in the opposition without violence, destruction of property and deaths.
“We have a mature democracy. In the last general elections, we had a clear winner and a clear loser,” he said.
Mr Kindiki assured Kenyans that the government will protect them and their property from those abusing the constitution to advance their political agenda.
“We will not allow anyone in this country to misuse the constitution to cause harm to others and destroy property.
Mr Timamy said the people of Lamu County have steered clear of opposition protests saying “it is not the right way of addressing the high cost of living”.
He said they have opted to focus on income-generating projects and farming to enhance food production.
“Instead of going for protests, our farmers are in the farms producing food,” he said.
Mr Githuku said the people of Lamu County do not approve of the opposition’s anti-government protests saying they support the government.
“Do not allow them to ruin our country,” he added.
Ms Obbo said they were keen on addressing security challenges in the county to unlock their region’s economic potential.
Mr Githuku lauded the government’s school feeding programme saying it has boosted the number of learners in school.
Later, he commissioned the rehabilitation programme of the Tana Delta Irrigation Project and issued cheques to the local fishing community in Tana River County.
By Presidential Communication Service(PCS)
