Madaraka Day celebrations to resume in counties after nine months
President Uhuru Kenyatta speaks at Uhuru Gardens during celebrations to mark Jamhuri Day in 2021.
National celebrations will resume in all counties in the country ending the nine-month-long ban on such events that came into force last September due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The lifting of the ban was announced by the Interior Ministry Principal Secretary, Karanja Kibicho at Uhuru Gardens Thursday evening as he inspected the venue that is currently being prepared for the Madaraka Day celebrations set for June 1.
The Interior Ministry explained that Nairobi will host this year’s Madaraka Day, unlike the previous years where the celebrations were conducted in different counties across the country since it would be the last national celebrations presided by President Uhuru Kenyatta, who is set to leave office after the August 9 elections.
“This year’s Madaraka Day is significant because it will be the last for this regime and we decided it would be celebrated here breaking the tradition of celebrating it in the counties,” PS Kibicho said.
59 years of self rule
He revealed that preparations were currently at 90 percent complete and expressed confidence that all will be set for the event as the country marks 59 years of self rule.
“The infrastructure is ready for the national celebrations and we have seen what the technical committee has been doing in the last few months. This is the readiest we have ever been three weeks to the national celebrations,” he said.
With the notable decrease in the Covid-19 cases in the country, the Interior PS said more Kenyans would be allowed into the grounds unlike last December while celebrating Jamhuri Day celebrations at the same venue.
He added that children will also be allowed to attend the celebrations.
“At least 30,000 Kenyans will be allowed into the grounds in this year's Madaraka Day celebrations. This is an increase from the 10,000 who were allowed into the grounds during last year's Jamhuri Day celebrations due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” PS Kibicho said.
The principal secretary said they would be visiting the gardens every Thursday until June 1 to ensure all loose ends are tied up properly, promising that the celebrations will be very colourful.
