‘One term!’ chants force Kinyanjui to cut speech at Murang’a burial

By Newsflash Writer

Trade Cabinet Secretary Lee Kinyanjui was on Friday, February 6, forced to abruptly cut short his speech and leave a burial ceremony in Murang’a after an angry crowd repeatedly heckled him with chants of “One term!”.

Kinyanjui had attended the burial of the mother of former Kigumo MP Jamleck Kamau, an event that drew several high-profile political figures, including former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, former Attorney-General Justin Muturi, and Peoples Liberation Front (PLP) party leader Martha Karua.

What began as a solemn occasion quickly turned politically charged, with the Cabinet Secretary struggling to address the crowd amid hostility directed at leaders perceived to be allied to President William Ruto’s administration.

Funeral turns to political battleground

Reading the mood of the gathering, Kinyanjui kept his initial remarks brief, explaining that his presence at the burial was purely personal.

“I am here because Jamleck Kamau is my close friend,” he said, before warning against turning funerals into political arenas.

“It is not our tradition to play politics in funerals. There are people whom we associate with those behaviours,” Kinyanjui added.

Trade CS Lee Kinyanjui addressing mourners at the burial of Jamleck Kamau’s mother, Kigumo, Murang’a. Photo/Lee Kinyanjui

He urged the crowd to separate community affairs from partisan politics. “We must differentiate between politics and community affairs,” he said, attempting to calm the already restless gathering.

However, before he could proceed further, loud chants of “One term!”—a slogan increasingly used by critics of President Ruto ahead of the 2027 General Election—erupted, drowning out his speech.

The heckling forced Kinyanjui to pause several times, as the burial ceremony took on the atmosphere of a political rally, reflecting growing anger within sections of the Mt Kenya electorate.

Northlands scars and regional divisions

As the chants persisted, Kinyanjui revisited the 2023 invasion of former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Northlands farm in Ruiru, arguing that the political discord planted during that period had never fully healed.

“If there is anyone whom we are not speaking alike politically, let him give his remarks and leave,” he said, warning against intolerance and political intimidation.

Kinyanjui appeared particularly disturbed by what he described as rising hostility among leaders from the region.

“When you plan that a person, for instance, JB (former National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi) won’t address people, or will be stoned, I have seen public address vehicles designed as if they are going in a war,” he said.

“We have turned our region into a political battlezone,” he added, as chants grew louder.

Trying to strike a conciliatory tone, the CS acknowledged the right of citizens to express dissent.

“To those saying ‘one term’, it’s their right,” he said. “However, we must know that it’s not only Mt Kenya that will vote in 2027. The whole country will vote. So, we must listen to each other, whether we agree or not, because we have a country to move on.”

He warned that incessant public infighting had damaged the image of the Kikuyu community. According to Kinyanjui, the tendency by leaders to insult and undermine one another had turned the community into a national laughing stock.

Projects drowned by chants

The political temperature rose further when Kinyanjui attempted to defend the Ruto administration against accusations of abductions, insisting such cases had ended following the formation of the broad-based government.

“Tell me one case of abduction that has happened since [we] joined the [broad-based] government,” he said, prompting even louder and more hostile chants from the crowd.

Despite the hostility, Kinyanjui maintained that he would accept any political outcome in the region. “I will be okay if any of the competing factions emerge victorious, but Kenya will remain,” he said.

The final straw came when he tried to enumerate government development projects in Murang’a.

“I would like to conclude by saying that I am in the Ministry of Trade and Industry. Among the projects we are trying to roll out in this region, including Murang’a, is an industrial park,” he said, before adding that Kenya had recently opened talks with China to facilitate the export of locally produced avocados.

His remarks were completely drowned out by renewed chants of “One term!”, forcing him to abandon his speech.

“I want to tell you that voting will not be done on the basis of a narrative of ‘One term’ or ‘Two term’, but will be based on one’s track record,” Kinyanjui said as he handed over the microphone and left the podium.

The incident highlighted the intensifying political hostility facing government-aligned leaders in Mt Kenya, even in traditionally apolitical spaces such as funerals.