President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday announced that the Madaraka Day celebrations, which were scheduled to be held in Kajiado, would now be moved to Narok.
The Head of State hosted the National Celebrations Committee led by CS Fred Matiang’i at State House Nairobi, for a briefing on the progress regarding preparations leading up to the June 1, 2019 event.
Kajiado County Governor, Joseph Ole Lenku and his Narok counterpart Samuel Ole Tunai were both present at the meeting and went on to provide a breakdown of the progress of the various renovations.
The Matiang’i-led Committee aired concerns that the Kajiado stadium construction works would not be completed within the remaining three months as earlier projected.
Consequently, the president decreed a change in venue to neighbouring Narok county, and further directed the Ministry of Sports and Heritage to allocate Ksh100 million to Kajiado.
He divulged that the funds were to be geared towards ensuring the on-going works at the stadium were completed to required standards in readiness for hosting national celebrations in the future.
President Uhuru went on to disclose that by shifting the celebrations from Kajiado to Narok, the Government would ensure that the benefits arising from the hosting of the national event were retained within the same economic block.
Kajiado had been confirmed as the venue earlier on during the month as the President was making his way back from Arusha via road accompanied by his deputy, Dr William Ruto, and Burundi Vice President Gaston Sindimwo.
The three were heading back from Arusha, Tanzania, where they attended the 20th Heads of State Summit of the East African Community and were hosted by Ole Lenku, during a stopover for lunch at Oletepes Picnic Site in Kiserian.
President Uhurus’ directive to have the national celebrations held in Narok is in line with a recent trend in which celebrations to mark some national holidays are held in the counties, unlike in the past when such events were held exclusively in Nairobi.
