A view of the arena that will host 2022 presidential debate
The auditorium at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa in Nairobi where the 2022 presidential debate will be held.
The road leading to Catholic University of Eastern Africa, the venue of the 2022 presidential debate, is clear, with one or two vehicles in sight.
At the gate, two security guards usher us into a deserted parking lot, save for one car.
The compound looks deserted, which is understandable, as today is a public holiday. But do not be deceived – several metres away is a hive of activity.
We move about a hundred metres straight on, then turn right as a 15km/h sign reminds us to slow down. But hey, we are just walking with chirping birds our only company.
A TV crew at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa in Nairobi on July 11, 2022.
We move for another 400 metres, then we turn left towards the Pope John IV Learning Resource Centre, where we are now allowed to increase our speed to 25km/h.
Along the stretch of about 500 metres, tents from an earlier event held by Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition running mate Martha Karua are still on the field.
New world
The imposing auditorium welcomes us to a totally new world. Here, every breathing creature is busy.
A worker is laying a carpet, another moving from one end to another while yet another is shouting instructions.
Inside the auditorium, preparations are ongoing, with workers putting the final touches on the stage that will host a debate between Nairobi governor candidates.
A sprawling black carpet and white lecterns dot the main stage set against an exquisite white background filled with pictures of iconic Nairobi buildings like Lonrho Africa, KICC, Times Tower, Cooperative Bank and Ecobank Towers and others.
In the left corner of the huge stage, draped in black carpet, is a glittering "The Presidential Debate 2022" logo.
An outside view of the Catholic University of Eastern Africa’s auditorium on July 11, 2022.
Off the main podium is a raised platform with a table and two chairs for the debate’s moderators. The mounted stage is covered in wine red carpet, with stripes of the colours of the Kenyan flag running across it.
Behind it are more than 100 fixed chairs in maroon colours where the accredited audience will sit. Huge lights and speakers stare down at the chairs while on the sides, there are huge cameras.
A big screen mounted above the podium tells us it is 11.47am, July 11, 2022. We then leave for Studio B through the back door.
Workers laying carpets inside the Catholic University of Eastern Africa’s auditorium on July 11, 2022.
Sound checks
In Studio B, sandwiched between the auditorium, the Bishop McCauley Memorial Library and the university cafeteria, preparations are also in high gear, with different crews being briefed and sound checks being made.
This will be the place for analysis, hosting panellists moderated by Citizen TV's Waihiga Mwaura.
Six chairs, a white big table and a red carpet drape the stage. Filler lights hang menacingly over the table and the chairs.
Nothing is being left to chance. Everyone is doing something. Camera people are testing their equipment.
Not to be left behind, the sun has also come out, a relief from the chilling cold that the city had endured recently.
Satisfied that all is in order, high fives and smiles take over as a relaxed mood sets in.
The Nairobi gubernatorial debate, set for this evening, will be in two stages, with the first tier kicking off at 6pm and ending at 7.30pm. It will be moderated by Serfine Achieng’ from KBC and K24’s Ayub Abdi and will involve candidates with a popularity rating of below five per cent.
The presidential debate podium at Catholic University of Eastern Africa’s auditorium on July 11, 2022.
The second tier, starting at 8pm, will be moderated by NTV’s Mark Masai and Zubeida Kananu of KTN News and will see Mr Johnson Sakaja and Mr Polycarp Igathe face off. Citizen TV’s Mr Mwaura will be the lead moderator of this debate that will end at 9.30pm.
Besides Mr Sakaja and Mr Igathe, other candidates are businesswoman Agnes Kagure, Kenneth Nyamwamu and techpreneur Harman Grewal.
Others are Cleophas Kiio, Nancy Mwadime and Esther Thairu Waringa.
But Mr Denis Kodhe of the Liberal Democratic Party has withdrawn from the debate.
