Former President Uhuru Kenyatta has urged young Africans to embrace self-reliance as opposed to dependence on foreign opportunities, as Western governments adopt increasingly inward-looking policies.

Kenyatta said the tightening of immigration laws and significant cuts to foreign aid by Western countries present a moment of introspection for Africa, one that should usher in local solutions, led by the continent’s youth majority.

“There is nobody coming to our rescue, and in a world that is becoming more insular, there will soon be nowhere to run so let us fix our continent,” he said, adding, “This is your independence moment, you are officially the freedom fighters of this era. You are the last line of defense in the battle to rescue the heart and soul of Africa.”

The former Kenyan President was delivering the keynote address at this year’s Annual Guild Summit, a regional conference hosted by Makerere University to promote principles of good governance among young African leaders.

Further, he challenged the group of young leaders to take part in civic life and ensure their governments prioritise the needs of young people, including investment in education and technology.

More than 65 percent of Africans are under the age of 25.

Conflicts

In a speech that lasted nearly 45 minutes, Kenyatta also took aim at African leaders he accused of stoking internal conflicts and enabling foreign exploitation of the continent’s natural resources, including minerals and agricultural wealth.

“All these conflicts you see around here, don’t be cheated that they are about anything else. Ni pesa (it’s about money). People killing each other, allowing their children to be killed, while making all kinds of claims. It’s all about their pockets,” he said.

“We can see these fishers. They are looking at us through their ambassadors and high commissioners. You’d think they are here for bilateral development, yet they are looking for how much more they can get. They have made our continent fair game for destructive proxy wars,” he added.

He also voiced concern over an estimated 35 active conflicts across the continent. Kenyatta has been directly involved in peace negotiations in some of them, including the civil unrest in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and South Sudan.

In one of his few public speeches since leaving office in 2022, the former president encouraged young Africans to elect leaders who listen, uphold integrity, reject division, and drive the continent’s economic transformation.

The second edition of the annual summit was also attended by Uganda’s Vice President Jessica Alupo and Guillaume Chartrain, deputy ambassador of the European Union to Uganda.

Later, Kenyatta met with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni at State House in Entebbe.