Raphael Tuju has officially left the Jubilee Party, closing the book on a complicated and chaotic political journey that has seen him at the nexus of power and scandal for years.
In a Tuesday, August 19, letter of resignation to retired President Uhuru Kenyatta, Tuju revealed that he could no longer see a role for himself within the party following an evolving political scene at both Jubilee and national levels.
“With the way things are shaping, I for one do not feel there is any real value that I can still add to Jubilee,” he stated.
It wasn’t a bitter letter far from it. Tuju took a reflective and at times emotional tone, thanking Uhuru for the time they spent working together, and expressing quiet satisfaction at what they tried to achieve: build a political sanctuary that wasn’t tribal.
“Our political formation traced its roots back to our times when we were being led by President Kibaki when we were building PNU,” Tuju reminded. “We ventured to think that we could transcend tribal politics. Maybe we were foolish. But it was worth trying.”
Tuju was Jubilee’s Secretary-General for ten years, between 2016 and 2022.
But his most memorable moment, however, came in 2018 when President Uhuru Kenyatta made him a Cabinet Secretary without portfolio an advisory position that earned him a seat at the best table in government.
By reflex, Tuju conceded how much it mattered to be in that role, from a society that has never been in the political class.
It was a bold step on your part,” he told Uhuru, “to invite me to do such a sensitive job, as I come from the Luo community, when Jubilee’s hold was largely Kikuyu and Kalenjin.”
He said that gesture mattered. That it showed something different was possible in Kenyan politics. That tribe didn’t have to be everything.
Tuju asserts his resignation is not about leaving office it’s about leaving office. He believes it’s time for the next generation of leaders to step in, uh, and map the future.
He didn’t completely close the chapter on running againHe actually left it wide open.
“I look forward to working with you one day,” he wrote. “But today, I’m stepping back.”
He ended his letter, not with political rhetoric, but with a call: that Kenyans maintain their eye on the bigger picture.
“This country has huge potential,” he said. “Despite all the poverty and frustration, there is something enchanted about it. That the UN keeps moving operations away from New York to Nairobi is no coincidence.”. We have to believe in ourselves and behave as if it is true.”
