I speak to you as a grandfather - President Uhuru Kenyatta's New Year's message to Kenyans

The President's message centred on the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) and the reopening of schools.

He announced that all learners would be going back to class beginning on January 4, 2020.

"To all our children, I speak to you as a father; I speak to you as a grandfather. To our teenagers, hold yourself together. Gather the strength, the gifts, the talents and the energy within yourself; and harness it. Do not throw away your youth, your potential to the harrowing the wind.

"On the 4^th of January 2021, all our Learners will resume their schooling; with in-person classes and this is from inception class, all the way to those offered by tertiary learning institutions. I wish them all well and I want to assure them and their parents, as well as their guardians that my Government will do everything in its power to ensure their health and safety remains our foremost consideration," the President stated.

BBI, First Amendment

President Kenyatta also declared that 2021 would be the "Year of the First Amendment".

"The New Year presents a unique opportunity in the life of our nation to re-imagine our society, bring back the family to the centre of our communities, and re-build a gentler, and indeed kinder, Kenya.

"With the New Year, anticipated as the year of rebuilding, the year of re-taking lost territory and the year of bold decisions, we also call upon you, our fellow Kenyans, to also embrace it as the Year of the First Amendment," he stated.

He added: "The proposed First Amendment to our Constitution in 2021, I believe, is a bold path that seeks to lay the foundation for a more just, more inclusive, more equitable and more prosperous Kenya. It also seeks to make right our politics by eliminating 'Winner Takes All' and replacing it with 'We All Win'."