“Called at Midnight”: Tuju reveals how Uhuru recruited him for Jubilee politics

Former Jubilee Party Secretary General Raphael Tuju has described how a late-night phone call from former President Uhuru Kenyatta pulled him back into active politics, after he had already stepped away to focus on business and media work. He says the call came at a critical moment when the Jubilee Party was preparing for the 2017 elections and struggling with internal leadership disagreements.

Speaking on Wednesday during a Radio Generation interview, Tuju said he had fully left political life and returned to private work before the unexpected request came.

“I’d completely stepped out of politics at one time. I went back to my factory settings. That is business and, of course, media,” he said, describing a period in which he had disengaged from political life.

That position changed in 2016 when he received a direct appeal from Uhuru Kenyatta, who was then preparing for re-election under the Jubilee Party.

“President Uhuru Kenyatta did ask me if I could join up and join his government to help in preparing the party for the 2017 elections,” Tuju said.

He explained that the party was going through internal disagreements linked to leadership and influence, especially between key figures in the coalition. He said he was considered a neutral option who could help calm tensions and bring balance within the party structure.

“It was essentially because between himself(Former President Uhuru) and Ruto, they could not agree on who, so I was kind of a neutral person to be brought into the party,” the former CS recounted.

At the time, the Jubilee Party was still new, having been formed in 2016 through the merger of several political parties that supported Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto. The transition brought together different political groups, but also exposed competition over positions and control within the new party structure.

Tuju said the request came late at night, a moment that showed the urgency of the matter.

“He called me at almost midnight,” he said, adding that the timing also surprised those around him. “My spouse was wondering, who is this calling Raphael close to midnight.”

https://twitter.com/RadioGenKe/status/2051892339010891784

He added that the weight of the request made it difficult to turn down.

“When the President calls you in the middle of the night and asks you to do something, if you tell him no, it’s a very risky thing,” former Jubilee SG said.

He eventually agreed to return to politics and take up the role of Secretary General of the Jubilee Party, saying, “So I said, yes, the rest is history,” he added.

Tuju was officially appointed as the party’s first Secretary General on November 5, 2016 during the Jubilee National Governing Council meeting at the Bomas of Kenya. The meeting formally set up the party secretariat following the merger that brought together The National Alliance (TNA), United Republican Party (URP), NARC–Kenya, New Ford Kenya, United Democratic Forum (UDF), Republican Congress Party, Alliance Party of Kenya (APK) and The Independent Party (TIP).

Later on, Tuju transitioned into government service when Uhuru Kenyatta appointed him Cabinet Secretary without portfolio in January 2018. In that role, he worked closely on party coordination and government liaison matters until the end of the Jubilee administration in 2022.

His account highlights how political decisions at the highest level are often shaped by direct communication and personal trust, alongside formal party structures. He suggests that urgent situations can lead to quick decisions that depend heavily on relationships between leaders.

Tuju’s return also came during a period when managing political alliances was delicate, especially within a coalition that brought together competing interests under one party. His position as a neutral figure was meant to help stabilize internal structures at a time when unity was seen as important for the 2017 elections.

He further reflects on how political paths can change suddenly, even after someone has stepped away from public life. In his case, a single phone call became the turning point that brought him back into national politics.

The experience also points to the influence held by top leadership in shaping political outcomes, where direct requests from the Head of State can carry strong weight in decision-making.