20 Heads of State to attend President-elect William Ruto's inauguration

President-Elect William Ruto addressing the media in Karen, Nairobi on August 5th, 2022 after the Supreme Court upheld his win. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]

About 20 African Heads of State and Governments have confirmed attendance of the swearing-in ceremony of President-elect William Ruto and his deputy-elect Rigathi Gachagua on Tuesday, September 13.

"We will have all the protocols associated with visiting Heads of States ready by Foreign Affairs and KDF and all people concerned with the arrival of dignitaries," Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho said in a briefing on Saturday.

Kibicho was speaking after he led the Assumption of Office committee to inspect the Kasarani Stadium, the venue of the occasion.

He said that everything is already in place for the swearing-in of Ruto and his deputy, adding that the venue will be ready by Sunday, 6 pm.

According to Kibicho, Kenyans do not require official invites, as the stadium will be open to all.

"However, because of controls we will have limited invitations, you can see the dais can only accommodate a certain number of people. We will have limited invitation of 2,500 VIPs at the main dais," he said.

The program is scheduled to start at 7 am. Kenyans can begin trickling into the grounds from as early as 4.00 am, and expect to be seated by 10.00 am.

The ceremony will then begin at 10:30 am, and the President-elect sworn into office between 10 am and 2 pm.

The traffic department has already drawn the traffic order to control the movement of vehicles before, during, and after the ceremony.

The PS said that some of the guests had agreed to carpool to reduce the number of vehicles expected at the event, saying the government will announce the specific points they will be picked from.

Security has also been beefed up in the area, with over 10,000 police officers manning the stadium on Tuesday.

"We are satisfied, we have no doubt that we will have a very colorful ceremony on Tuesday and we have given it all it takes to make our country proud," said Kibicho.

There will also be screens mounted at select locations to make room for attendees who will not make it to the stadium to follow the event live.