Anxious Kenyans Brave Cold Night Waiting for Uhuru

Thousands of Kenyans on Friday night braved the cold as they waited for President Uhuru Kenyatta to preside over this year's Madaraka Day Celebration in Narok.

As early as Friday 9pm, people started thronging the venue in preparations of the celebrations that are marked every year since Kenya gained independence in 1963.

The large crowds were spotted making way to Narok Stadium while others had their children.

According to a report by Daily Nation, all the terraces that were reserved for the public were filled by 4am.

The determined attendees forced the authorities to open the venue's gates earlier than the scheduled time of 5:30am with some saying that they negotiated to gain entry.

Queues outside the stadium reportedly stretched for more than 500 meters along Narok-Bomet road.

The celebrations saw the town get a facelift with numerous infrastructural developments taking shape including upgrading of roads, beautification as well as the painting of the newly-refurbished Narok Stadium.

“This Madaraka Day celebrations is a godsend. We have been suffering from the dust during dry season and flash floods when it rains, but now we are seeing the stormwater drainage system and rehabilitation of town roads. We are happy,” expressed a trader identified as John Kamau.

This year's celebrations were taken to Narok in line with Uhuru's directive that abandoned tradition in 2016 by moving national celebrations outside Nairobi.

In 2018, Madaraka Day celebrations were held at Kinoru Stadium in Meru County.

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