Raphael Tuju, a long-time ally of former President Uhuru Kenyatta, has resigned from the Jubilee Party, closing a chapter in a political career that has spanned nearly two decades.
In a letter dated 19 August and addressed to Mr Kenyatta, who still serves as party leader, Tuju said he could no longer contribute meaningfully to the movement he once helped shape. “I see no more value that I can add to the Jubilee Party. I therefore tender my resignation,” he wrote.
Tuju, who served as secretary general from 2016 to 2022, described his appointment as a “bold political step,” noting it was rare for someone from the Luo community to hold a senior post in a party largely anchored in Kikuyu and Kalenjin strongholds.
“Naively, many of us in the Jubilee expedition had thought and dreamed that we could build a national party and a country that could make a transition from politics defined by ethnic mobilisation and polarisation,” he reflected.
His resignation letter revisited one of the defining moments of Jubilee’s internal rift—the 2018 Handshake between Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga. Tuju defended the deal as a stabilising force but admitted it soured his relations with then-Deputy President William Ruto.
“Unfortunately, that handshake brought a lot of hostility between me and President Ruto despite several initiatives to bridge the gaps,” he said, adding that the strain remained unresolved before his near-fatal accident in 2020.
Tuju also traced his political journey with Kenyatta back to the days of the Party of National Unity under President Mwai Kibaki. He said both men had endured criticism within their communities for attempting to move away from tribal politics.
As he bowed out, Tuju urged leaders to focus on poverty and unemployment rather than ethnic rivalries. “Those are the true enemies of Kenya,” he wrote in conclusion.
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