The Jubilee Party has moved to defend its party leader, former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s, continued involvement in active politics, saying political interference and internal party wrangles forced him to remain engaged even after leaving office.

Speaking in a morning interview with a local radio station on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, Jubilee Party deputy party leader Jeremiah Kioni said that the political agenda of Uhuru was thwarted by both government and opposition leaders in the last years of his leadership.

“He has been around politics because his predecessors in opposition who were in power then and are now in opposition did not give him room to run his political agenda in the last three years,” Kioni said.

Kioni also said the former president’s first thought was to move out of the political arena after his second tenure, but within the Jubilee Party, he found it difficult to get off the political circuit entirely.

“Uhuru Kenyatta is active in politics because those in government and those in government but in the opposition did not let him implement his political agenda,” he added.

The former Ndaragwa MP has said that Uhuru wanted to pass the baton of Jubilee Party’s leadership to a new generation of leaders and leave a space for youths to be in the leadership of the country.

“If Jubilee were not in court, we would not be discussing Uhuru being in politics today. He has always had the mind of retiring from that active role in a political party,” Kioni added.

Kioni: Uhuru is protecting Jubilee

The Jubilee official revealed that the political differences over the party leadership and control of the outfit had caused Uhuru to stay in the political arena to protect and preserve the party’s future and stability.

“Uhuru seriously wanted to pass this party to another set of people and also gave way to the youth to come in and take leadership of this country,” he said.

The comments come after Uhuru Kenyatta, who officially stepped down from power following the 2022 general election, has continued to exert influence in national politics. He has remained a central figure in politics, and his presence has garnered attention from both sides of the political aisle, with leaders in government pushing for his exit from active politics.

The former president has been seen to support the united alternative government with his Jubilee Party fronting former Cabinet secretary Fred Matiang’i as a presidential candidate in the 2027 general elections.