Uhuru Gardens to host 30,000 for Madaraka celebrations

Around 30,000 people will be allowed into Uhuru Gardens to celebrate the last Madaraka Day under President Uhuru Kenyatta next month.

Interior PS Dr Karanja Kibicho said the decision to allow more attendees is informed by a review of the Covid‐19 transmission trends and the progress made in managing the pandemic.

“We know Covid is not over yet, but it has substantially subsided and, therefore, we will increase the number from the 10,000 that we had last time hopefully to 30,000,” Kibicho said.

He revealed that the government was weighing the possibility of allowing counties to host celebrations in their respective headquarters alongside the national event as had been the tradition before the onset of Covid.

School children will also be back on the entitlement menu as the event organizers seek to inject more variety and fun into celebrations that mark the date that the country obtained self-governance.

“We have not also been having the participation of children because of the pandemic, but this time we shall bring them on board and hopefully have celebrations across all the counties,” the PS said.

He spoke after leading the National Celebrations Committee on an inspection tour of the Uhuru Gardens, which will be the venue for the June 1 event which is also a public holiday.

Kibicho said the event’s significance to the Jubilee Administration informed the decision to host it in Nairobi, a deviation from the presidential directive that has seen counties host the celebrations on a rotational basis.

“This is the readiest we have ever been three weeks to a national celebration. And as a committee, we are satisfied that we will be able to give Kenyans a very colourful day or Madaraka Day. The infrastructure is in place, and all the things that are required are here.”

The facility was transformed into a memorial park that celebrates independence heroes.

It is currently undergoing a facelift by the Kenya Defense Forces (KDF).