Limited guests at Jamuhuri Day fete
Only 5,000 invited guests will be allowed into the Nyayo National Stadium during this year’s Jamhuri Day celebrations on Saturday.
Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho said the decision was made due to the Covid- 19 pandemic that has forced everyone, including the government, to adopt a ‘new normal.’
This will be the 57th Jamhuri day and will be held at the refurbished stadium which has a carrying capacity of 30,000 people
“This is an easier one for us because Nyayo Stadium is complete. We will see a very diminished number, from the 30,000 that usually get to Nyayo stadium. So we will only be inviting 5,000 members of the public, we will issue cards to them so that the issue of social distancing does not become a challenge to them,” he said.
Speaking to the press, Nairobi Regional Commissioner James Kianda said that preparations to host the event have been concluded and the celebration will be marked in accordance with the Ministry of health Covid-19 protocols.
He said sanitisers have been placed at the five entry points of the stadium in a move to ensure there is no transmission of the virus from one person the other.
National Youth Service (NYS) will handle the guests and ensure everyone attending the event follows health protocols.
The celebrations will be presided over by President Uhuru Kenyatta, with the Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology tasked to ensure the function is live and beaming for those not invited to watch on their screens.
“Ministry of ICT will link the rest of the Kenyans to the goings-on so that we all participate in this auspicious occasion for Kenyans as it reminds us of the selfless struggle and hard-earned freedom by our forefathers from the colonial masters,” he said.
This year’s celebtrations comes against a backdrop of a pandemic that has ravaged not only global economies but which has also disrupted every social sphere.
Kenya became a Republic on December 12, 1963 when supreme power was transferred to Kenyan people and their elected leaders further allowing the establishment of our own systems of governance.