Interior CS Matiang’i declares Tuesday public holiday

Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i has declared Tuesday September 13, 2022 a public holiday, being the date when President-elect William Ruto and Deputy President-elect Rigathi Gachagua will be sworn in.

Preparations for Dr Ruto’s inauguration as the fifth President of the Republic of Kenya are already in top gear, with the Assumption of Office Committee, which is tasked with facilitating handover of the instruments of power to the incoming government, having met on Tuesday this week to put final touches to the transition plans.

The meeting at Harambee House, Nairobi, came a day after President Uhuru Kenyatta assured the country of a smooth transition.

Handover preparations began on August 12, when the Assumption of Office Committee held its inaugural meeting and assured the public of a seamless process.

Hand over peacefully

On Wednesday, President Kenyatta said he will be at Kasarani stadium on Tuesday to hand over power “peacefully, while smiling” to his successor.

He was speaking during the Azimio Parliamentary Group meeting at Maasai Lodge in Kajiado County.

"I will hand over power on Tuesday while smiling because that is my constitutional duty and I had promised a smooth transition. After that, I will become a normal citizen and my leader will be Raila Odinga," President Kenyatta said amid cheers from the MPs.

Serve all Kenyans

President-elect Ruto, in an interview with CNN on Wednesday evening, said he is focused on ensuring that his government serves all Kenyans regardless of their political affiliation.

"The administration that I am going to run is going to be an administration that is going to serve all Kenyans equally, whether they voted for us or they did not," said Dr Ruto.

"Everybody will do business, everybody will do whatever they want to do so long as they are doing it within the law. Anybody that operates outside the law, it does not matter where they come from, they will be sent back from where they came from," he added.

Already, Dr Ruto has invited more than 40 heads of state to attend his inauguration on Tuesday.

The invitations are being made to the countries identified by former Foreign Affairs Chief Administrative Secretary Ababu Namwamba, who led Dr Ruto’s international relations docket at his presidential campaign secretariat.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been extremely helpful in coordinating this effort. We have been in touch with them. We are doing it together. We expect that we are going to have a good number," said Mr Namwamba.

Official portrait

He added that they are also working on the official portrait which will be sent across Kenyan embassies and consulates across the country and will be completed before the week ends.

"I am aware that work has been going on on the details of official portrait. Official portrait is also something which is part of our diplomatic protocol because we need to share it to various capitals. [The making of the] Presidential Standard is also going on," he said.