President Uhuru Kenyatta to receive KDF farewell tomorrow

President Uhuru Kenyatta with the Chief of the Defence Forces Robert Kibochi. [Dennish Ochieng, Standard]

President Uhuru Kenyatta will on Friday, September 9, receive final honours as Commander-In-Chief of Kenya's Armed Forces.

The farewell ceremony, staged by the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), will take place at the Ulinzi Sports Complex in Lang'ata, Nairobi County.

KDF spokesperson Esther Wanjiku said that the ceremony will start at 8am.

"The event will, thereafter, proceed for the pulling out of the outgoing Commander-In-Chief of the Defence Forces in the afternoon at the Defence Headquarters in Hurlingham, Nairobi," said Wanjiku.

"It is in line with the military traditions and custom to hold a farewell ceremony of the Commander-In-Chief of Defence Forces," added the KDF spokesperson.

The military fete is usually held at a military base preferred by the outgoing president.

The last time the military held the event was on March 22, 2013, when KDF held a colourful three-hour ceremony for the then-outgoing president Mwai Kibaki.

The ceremony was conducted at the Moi Air Base in Eastleigh, Nairobi.

During the event, Kibaki urged the military to support the incoming administration, led by Uhuru Kenyatta.

Kibaki's predecessor, Daniel Arap Moi, had a similar event held at the Lang'ata Barracks, when he was retiring in December 2002.