President Kenyatta, Babu Owino Finally Shake Hands

There was a moment excitement in Parliament on Wednesday when President Kenyatta temporarily stopped his speech for a handshake with Opposition leaders led by Embakasi Member of Parliament Babu Owino.

In his State of the Nation address at Parliament Chambers, the President spoke on the need for leaders across the political divide to apologise and seek peace with each other.

"We leaders must admit we failed last year in our effort to preserve unity. Let us each apologise for our words and malice that Kenyans heard during the 2017 elections. Let us shake hands," President Kenyatta stated.

After the statement, MPs began shaking hands, forcing the President to halt his speech as some MPs took the opportunity and walked to the dais to shake the Head of the State's hand.

Embakasi East MP Owino didn't waste time in seeking reconciliation with President Uhuru. He was captured shaking the hand of the President while seemingly bowing his head in sign of respect. Earlier this year, the youthful MP found himself in trouble after he allegedly used derogatory language to refer to President Kenyatta’s mother, Mama Ngina.

Today's State of the Nation Address became the first time Opposition MPs sat quietly and listened to his speech.

During the 2016 address, Opposition lawmakers disrupted the address with physical fights, blowing the whistles they had carried to the Chambers. Last year, the Opposition legislators skipped the address, leaving the President to address Jubilee MPs only.