Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja on Thursday, April 4, stated that the County Government would soon be opening the Uhuru Park grounds for public access.
While delivering the State of the County address at the Nairobi City County Assembly, the governor stated that Kenyans would be allowed to access the venue free of charge.
Nonetheless, individuals seeking to enter the place would first be required to surrender their National Identity Cards (IDs) to the security officers at the entrance.
Sakaja noted the County Government will deploy a team of officers who will work jointly with police officers to man the premises.
The governor stated that premises will be guarded throughout the day including night hours to tame any potential crimes inside the park.
“We have put in place a management system from the gate that when you come in you will be able to leave your ID for us to ensure there is security for us to know who has come in,” Sakaja stated.
According to Sakaja, there were proposals to have a fee charged for those seeking to enter Uhuru Park but that was scrapped after consultations with the relevant stakeholders.
Remembering the number of times that jobless people would go there at lunchtime to eat an air burger as they listen to a pastor, would not allow me to charge a shilling on Kenyans who want to use Uhuru Park," the governor stated.
However, a fee will be charged for those seeking to access Central Park which is adjacent to Uhuru Park because of the access to the spacious secluded areas constructed inside the park.
"There is an amphitheatre, there is a nyatiti water feature where weddings can be performed, there is an outdoor library there is even a place where we can do a sitting of the assembly one of these days," Sakaja announced.
In 2022, the county government of Nairobi closed the park to public access for rehabilitation by the now-defunct Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS).
The renovations were led by the Ministry of Defence, which made several changes to the outlook of the park, which was previously marred by political rallies.
