Colourful Coast culture on full display during Mashujaa Day festivities

A colourful show of coastal culture highlighted the Mashujaa Day national celebrations at Kwale Stadium on Sunday.

From school pupils to groups of the elderly, nothing was left to chance to showcase the music and dances of the native Mijikenda communities. Being the first national event to be held in Kwale County, the newly constructed Kwale Stadium was full to the rafters as President William Ruto led the country in celebrating the 61st Mashujaa Day celebrations.

Residents started arriving to the 10,000-capacity stadium as early as 4am and, by 6am, it was full. 

Security was tight as all the attendants were frisked by combined team of military and police officers. A number of those who arrived late were locked out due to limited space.

Schoolchildren dressed in national colours sat strategically in one of the stands waving flags.

Residents enjoyed traditional Mijikenda cultural songs by the famous Sengenya Dancers as well as Taarab and Swahili songs during the performances that made President Ruto alongside First Lady Rachel Ruto sing and dance along with the performers.

Several local artistes also performed before the President.

Big screens were mounted at strategic spots in the stadium to allow the huge crowd to follow the proceedings.

Kwale County was playing host to a national day celebration for the first time ever since the government started hosting national events in different counties, moving away from past tradition of marking such days in the capital, Nairobi.

The event breathed life to the sleepy Kwale Town. It was buzzing with activities with traders making a killing. 
Neighbouring Mombasa County hosted the event in 2019. The celebrations were also historical. 

For the first time, a female officer from the Kenya Navy commanded a guard of honour. Lieutenant Colonel Faith Mwagandi led the Kenya Defence Forces troops drawn from Kenya Army, Kenya Air Force and Kenya Navy in mounting a Guard of Honour that was inspected by President Ruto.

In his speech, President Ruto commended Ms Mwagandi, saying, her leadership and that of Governor Fatuma Achani, who is also the first Muslim female governor, depicted the potential women leaders had in the country.

"We can confirm that women leadership has a firm place in the Republic of Kenya. Today, we also had a historic moment where for the first time a woman commanded the guard of honour. This shows that women are capable and that is why, as Kenyans, we want to aspire to remain free and sovereign," said President Ruto.

Some of the leaders who attended the event include Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, Interior Cabinet Secretary Hassan Joho,  andTransport CS Davis Chirchir.

Local leaders led by Governor Achani, who was also the host, attended the event alongside her counterparts Mombasa's Abdulswamad Nassir, Kilifi's Gideon Mung'aro, Lamu's Issa Timamy and Tana River's Dhadho Godhana and a host of senators and MPs.

Ms Achani thanked the government for hosting the event, whls observing that a mini state lodge and new roads were among benefits accrued by the municipality for hosting the event. She exuded confidence that Kwale will thrive as a business hub. 

A few minutes to 1pm, President Ruto finished his speech, leaving the stadium as locals dispersed back to their homes.

Those drawn from far flung areas boarded buses that jammed the Kwale-Kinango road.