President Uhuru Kenyatta will deliver the State of the Nation address in Parliament on May 2.
National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi on Tuesday informed MPs that he had received communication from the Head of State confirming that he would address a joint sitting of the two of Houses.
The letter was dated April 10.
“I wish to inform the House that a special sitting of Parliament will take place on May 2, 2018 in the National Assembly Chambers,” Muturi said.
He said Clerks Jeremiah Nyegenye (Senate) and Michael Sialai (Michael Sialai) have started preparing for the event and would send invitations to the lawmakers accordingly.
The address, delivered annually in March, was postponed over Uhuru’s trip to Mozambique, according to State House insiders.
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Parliament is scheduled to go on a month-long recess starting May 4.
Earlier, National Assembly Minority leader John Mbadi had called on the President to address Parliament before the break.
“The State of the Nation address is a constitutional requirement and I know the President must do it within April...We are going to break for a month-long recess from May 4 to June 4, according to the House calendar,” he said.
The Suba South MP said the delay to make public the outcome of the committee’s progress was tactical to insulate the talks from interference.
“There are too many saboteurs, including those who were a bit apprehensive and those who were very excited. This has to be managed and the lawyers are managing it until the time to announce those details is ripe,” Mbadi said.
Uhuru and Nasa leader Raila Odinga are likely to unveil a roadmap of their unity pact during this year’s State of the Nation address.
It is during the address that Uhuru would unpack the contents of the dialogue that has been going on for a month now.
Nairobi Senator and Deputy Majority Whip Johnson Sakaja – a close ally of Uhuru – affirmed that the President is likely to make public the committee deliberations during the State of the Nation address.