President Kenyatta gives Burundi 50 dairy cows
A view of the cows that were delivered to Burundi on behalf of President Uhuru Kenyatta.
President Uhuru Kenyatta’s promised gift of cattle to his Burundian counterpart Evariste Ndayishimiye has finally arrived in Bujumbura, settling a pledge made more than seven months ago.
The 50 heifers were delivered on Thursday alongside an assortment of livestock medication that President Kenyatta had promised President Ndayishimiye.
The two leaders had met in Kisumu on June 1 last year during Madaraka Day celebrations, which also marked the first ever state visit by Ndayishimiye to Kenya since taking power in 2020.
“Kenya continues to take a frontline role in extending assistance to members of the East African Community. In this regard Kenya has honoured its commitment to assisting Burundi to develop its agriculture, livestock and cooperative sectors,” said a statement from Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Kenya’s Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya delivered President Kenyatta’s donation to the government of Burundi on Thursday, February 3.
Other donations included 20,000 Quodivolent vaccine doses against foot and mouth disease; 1.3 metric tonnes of maize, wheat and Rhodes grass seeds; 1,000 pieces of tsetse traps; and 4,000 straws of semen.
The donations were handed over to Burundi’s minister of agriculture Deo Guide Rurema at a function in Bugendana, Gitega province.
Kenya and Burundi have enjoyed warm bilateral relations involving trade and investments.
Burundi has provided Kenya a free trade zone near the border with DRC where Kenya’s investors and manufacturers can showcase their products, mainly consumer and industrial goods.
The government of Burundi has also given Kenya a parcel of land to build an embassy and a trade centre that will offer services to Burundian and Kenyan traders.
Burundi’s tea and coffee are mainly exported through Kenya’s Mombasa port. The country exports more than 11,000 tonnes of tea every year, with 70 percent of the product transported to the Mombasa international auction.
Tea earns an estimated $39 million in foreign exchange for Burundi, with Kenya the first key export destination, though other direct buyers from Asia use the central corridor.
