2022 has been a busy year full of memorable activities in the country and likely to be one of those years that will forever remain engraved in the minds of many Kenyans.
Below are some of the great events that defined the year as compiled by Kenyans.co.ke.
Kamukunji Opposition Event
On December 7, the opposition, led by Azimio party leader Raila Odinga held a protest meeting just as they had planned to in their pledge to bring down President Ruto’s system.
The most awaited meeting went on despite being discouraged by fellow leaders, religious leaders included.
However, the much-hyped event at Kamukunji failed to live up to its billing, and Odinga later on canceled a planned parallel Jamhuri day celebration at Jacaranda grounds in Nairobi on December 12 indicating that he had engagements outside the country.
Hustler Fund Launch
President Wiliam Ruto launched the Hustler Fund on Wednesday, November 30 at the Green Park terminus in Nairobi.
He was accompanied by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja, and other Cabinet Secretaries.
It was a fun moment as the leaders interacted with hustlers who had stalled their businesses at the event venue.
The event saw small businesses getting promoted in the most generous way ever.
Ruto explained that the fund would have four different products; personal loans, groups, small enterprises, and cooperatives or corporations.
The several products will have different loan limits, with the personal capped at Ksh50,000 and Ksh250,000 for all groups.
Elections/Supreme Court Ruling
On September 5, the supreme court upheld Wiliam Ruto's win following the August 9 general election. This was after a ruling on petitions that had been filed by Raila Odinga seeking the nullification of the election results.
On August 15, Ruto had been declared the winner of the election by the head of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Wafula Chebukati, with 50.4 per cent of the vote to Odinga’s 48.8 percent.
“We declare the election of the president-elect to be valid,” Koome announced.
Inauguration
On September 13, William Ruto was sworn in as Kenya's president after narrowly winning the August 9 election.
Among the continental who graced the event include Eswatini Prime Minister Cleopas Dlamini, and Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.
Others are Samia Suluhu of the United Republic of Tanzania, Évariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi, Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi, Wavel Ramkalawan of Seychelles, Umaro Sissoco Embaló of Guinea Bissau, and Felix Tshisekedi (Congo).
Sierra Leone's President Julius Maada Bio also arrived, Emmerson Mnangagwa (Zimbabwe), Filipe Nyusi (Mozambique), Paul Kagame (Rwanda), Salva Kiir (South Sudan) and Yoweri Museveni (Uganda).
The Nairobi Expressway Launch
On July 31, former President Uhuru Kenyatta officially launched Kenya’s iconic Nairobi Expressway after months of a successful public trial.
He also commissioned the revamped Nairobi Eastern Bypass.
Speaking after the launch, he emphasized that infrastructural development is key to opening up opportunities for Kenyans.
He expressed optimism that the expressway and the bypass road will significantly address the nightmare of traffic gridlocks in Nairobi estimated to cost the nation over Ksh5 billion annually in lost productivity time and wasted fuel.
“Since we opened the road for public trials in April, it now takes between 15 and 24 minutes to drive from Mlolongo in Machakos County to Rironi in Kiambu County.
“Before the expressway, that journey would take at least three hours which is the equivalent of flying to Addis Ababa and back,” he stated.
