20 heads of state to attend Uhuru Kenyatta's inauguration

Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru explains the map of Thiba dam to President-elect Uhuru Kenyatta when the Head of State launched the construction project in Gichugu on Thursday. [Mose Sammy, Standard]

The Government says 20 heads of state will attend next Tuesday’s swearing-in ceremony of President-elect Uhuru Kenyatta.

And police officers have been recalled from other regions to beef up security in Nairobi.

Officials were, however, tight-lipped on the countries that will send delegations to the second swearing-in ceremony for the President and his deputy William Ruto scheduled at Kasarani stadium, Nairobi, with only a vague reference to “many traditional friends”.

Thursday, Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i gazetted November 28 as a public holiday to allow Kenyans to attend the ceremony, which comes on the back of protests by the Opposition, which has disputed the October 26 repeat presidential election that was however upheld by the Supreme Court.

Thursday, Head of Security and Protocol of the Assumption of the Office of President Committee Joseph Irungu said adequate security deployment had been done to secure hotels where guests will be staying, the airports and other teams will be tasked with escorting the guests.

“We have planned well from the airport where international guests will arrive from Monday. There is another team in hotels and apartments where the guests will be staying and another one that will be moving the VIPs from one place to the other,” Irungu told The Standard Thursday.

Military parade

Other sources said up to 2,000 officers had been mobilised from other regions for the event. They will be patrolling the city and other vital installations. The security officers include those from the National Police Service and National Intelligence Service. The military will also take over parts of Kasarani on Monday.

Officials said 100,000 people are expected to attend the ceremony at Kasarani Stadium where there will be an elaborate military parade and a 21-gun salute. Tasked to explain how the 100,000 would be accommodated at the stadium that has a capacity of 60,000, Irungu at an earlier press briefing had explained the spill-over would be redirected to “other areas” outside the stadium.

Another 2,500 would be hosted at the gymnasium and 20,000 people would be hosted outside the stadium.

According to Government Spokesperson Eric Kiraithe, 20 heads of state had so far confirmed attendance but he declined to name them.

However, Kiraithe said it would be a frugal affair.

“We don’t have funds for a lot of fanfare this time round. We need to be a little more economical and commit to things which add value to us,” he said, adding that it would be a fitting function for the occasion.

He said the Assumption of the Office of President Committee would give a full figure and more details about the function today.

Inferiority complex

Earlier, Irungu had said “scores of diplomats and heads of state” were expected to attend the fete.

Kiraithe defended the Government on claims it was soliciting congratulatory messages for President-elect Kenyatta after the Supreme Court upheld his win, saying that the Government had no “inferiority complex” to solicit for the messages.

The committee had suspended its preparations on September 1 after the Supreme Court annulled the August 8 presidential elections.

On Wednesday, Kenya’s military finalised its preparations for the swearing-in ceremony.

It was also not clear whether the President would be attending the fifth African Union-European Union (AU-EU) summit taking place immediately after his inauguration on November 29-30, 2017, in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

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[Reports by Wainaina Wambu, Nasibo Kabale, Michael Chepkwony and Cyrus Ombati]