Interior Principal Secretary, Karanja Kibicho, has issued strict protocols that Kenyans and foreign dignitaries will have to observe during the Jamhuri Day celebrations.
Speaking to the media on Friday, December 3, the PS stated that the government will only allow 10,000 people in the public seating and 1,000 people in the main dias.
Breaking away from tradition, this year's Jamhuri Day celebrations will not be held at Nyayo Stadium which has been the case in the past.
PS Kibicho, who is part of the Nation Celebration Committee, stated that preparations are underway for the celebrations to be held at Uhuru Gardens along Langata Road.
"Roughly 11,000 people will attend the event because we have to observe the Covid-19 protocols very carefully. Since Covid came around, we have been holding one celebration where the President is present," PS Kibicho stated.
He further noted that the government has not given the green light to county governments to hold parallel celebrations on December 12, adding that they will issue more directives at a later date.
"We will be making that decision (on whether counties will hold separate celebrations) after we have carried out an evaluation of how ready they are to handle this because we are aware we are not out of the woods yet as far as Covid is concerned," he added.
Since the pandemic was first reported in Kenya in March 2020, the Ministry of Health urged the government to limit the number of people who congregate in one place at the same time.
The first national holiday to be affected was Kenya's 57th Madaraka Day held on June 1, 2020. The celebrations were commemorated in a manner like no other in the country's 5-decade history.
The prevailing coronavirus pandemic forced Kenya to hold its first virtual Madaraka Day celebrations. Kibicho, on May 26, 2020, directed all Regional Commissioners to set up systems for virtual celebrations in their respective regions.
"Virtual celebration of this year (2020) Madaraka Day will be streamed through all media houses and social media platforms," the notice read in part at the time.
The celebration run from 8am and culminated in a live address by President Uhuru Kenyatta from State House, Nairobi.
