State House Spokesperson Kanze Dena has announced last minute changes to the upcoming Madaraka Day celebrations set to be marked in Kisumu County on Tuesday, June 1.
Speaking on Radio Nam Lolwe on the evening of Saturday, May 29, Kanze disclosed that the state had resorted to significantly reducing the number of attendees.
She explained that the decision was reached out after consultations between State House and Kisumu County Government which is hosting the event.
She further revealed that the event would be hosted at the newly refurbished Jomo Kenyatta International Stadium, Mamboleo.
"The venue for Madaraka Day is the new Jomo Kenyatta International Stadium, Mamboleo. However, due to the Covid-19 situation in the County and the Country, the number of citizens attending the event has been highly reduced and admission to the Stadium will be strictly by invitation card.
"Madaraka Day in Kisumu has put the limelight on Nyanza Region to showcase its investment and business potential to the world. We are lucky and glad that we will have a visiting Head of State also gracing the celebrations, giving Nyanza a more presence in East Africa," she explained.
The Stadium, whose renovations are still underway, was expanded to accommodate 30,000 people in one go but the Kisumu County Government had only invited 3,000 attendees for the historic feat.
Kanze confirmed that the number would be scaled down due to a detection of the deadly Indian variant recorded in the lakeside city.
The two governments had earlier considered changing the event's venue from the stadium to Kisumu State Lodge to minimise the number of attendees.
This is the latest hitch in the event after President Uhuru Kenyatta, who is expected to land at the Kisumu International Airport on May 30, 2021, cancelled his maiden trip to Kisumu from Naivasha using the revamped railway gauge.
Dena explained that the duo would not be using the train due to unavoidable circumstances. Earlier, media reports indicated that the trip had been cancelled following engineering setbacks.
During his tour to the city, expected to run for three days, the president will officially open complete National Government projects, inspect ongoing initiatives and launch new projects.
Some of the projects he is expected to commission include; Kisumu Port, the Jomo Kenyatta International Stadium, the Lake Basin Development.
