On the occasion of the commemoration of the centenary of the birth of Fidel Castro H.E. President (Rtd) Uhuru Kenyatta, issued a message reflecting on this significant occasion and the enduring bonds of solidarity and cooperation between the Republic of Kenya and the Republic of Cuba.
Following an extract of the message:
“History will debate Fidel Castro, as it debates all great men. That is as it should be. But here in Kenya, we judge a tree by its fruits. And the fruits of Fidel's vision are found in our county hospitals, in the skills of our young doctors, in the lives of Kenyans who are alive today because a srnall island nation chose solidarity over self-interest.
Fidel Castro proved something that we in Kenya understand deeply, because it is written into the very motto of our nationhood: that when people pull together, there is nothing they cannot achieve. He called it internationalism. We call it Harambee. It is the same truth.
To the generation now in leadership, and to the generations coming behind them, my charge is this: do not let this friendship become a museum piece. Deepen it. Expand our cooperation in health, in biotechnology and vaccine manufacturing, in agriculture, in sport, in education. Stand with Cuba, as Cuba stood with Africa, in calling for an end to the unjust blockade that has punished her people for over sixty years.
And carry forward, in our own nation, Fidel's greatest lesson, that the measure of a country is not the wealth it accumulates, but the service it renders”.