President William Ruto announced on Thursday that former US President Barack Obama is scheduled to visit Kenya next year to launch the School of Leadership at the University of Nairobi (UoN).
Speaking at the launch of the Kenya Young Parliamentarians Association Strategic Plan in Nairobi, Ruto mentioned that he had sought an opportunity to engage with Obama during his State visit to the US.
Ruto highlighted the significance of leadership and noted that the new school would provide youth with essential skills to become better leaders in the future.
He drew a parallel to the Kennedy School of Leadership at Harvard University, which was established in 1936 and is renowned for its excellence in equipping leaders and educating on public policies.
“When I was in America, I asked for an appointment with (former) president Barack Obama. I was asking him for one thing, I am an alumni of Nairobi University and I told him that his father was also an alumni of Nairobi University,” the president said.
“I requested him to assist us set up a school in the fashion of Kennedy School of Leadership in Harvard but this time to be a school of leadership in Nairobi University.”
According to Ruto, Obama assured that he would mobilise support for the school before his scheduled visit.
“I asked him let us call it ‘Barack Obama School of Leadership’ in Nairobi University. He agreed and will come here next year and he has undertaken that he will mobilise support for a sustainable school of leadership because leadership is serious and we want you guys to be better than us, go read, learn about leadership so that we can have better leaders tomorrow,” Ruto added.
Obama has made several trips to Kenya in the past, with the most recent being in 2018 after leaving the White House.
In 2015, while serving as the US President, Obama toured Kenya and held talks with former President Uhuru Kenyatta, focusing primarily on strengthening bilateral ties between the two nations.
