Uhuru Kenyatta to receive KDF farewell on Friday
Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) will on Friday bid farewell to President Uhuru Kenyatta as the Commander in Chief as he edges closer to vacating office. The President has been Commander-in-Chief for an uninterrupted nine years.
The ceremony will take place at the Ulinzi Sports Complex in Lang’ata, Nairobi County, in what is expected to be a colourful farewell for the fourth President of the Republic of Kenya.
KDF spokesperson Esther Wanjiku on Thursday 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.
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“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 ceremony is usually held at a military base preferred by the outgoing president. Friday’s event will be the third in Kenya’s history since independence. The late President Daniel Arap Moi had the first one in December 2002 and was followed by the late President Kibaki in 2013, while founding President Jomo Kenyatta had none after he died in office.
During the 2013 ceremony, the military gave President Kibaki a tractor, four cows, a dinner set, a large painting and a ceremonial Commander-in-Chief uniform mounted in a glass case. The President watched from the front as the tractor, a Massey Ferguson with three disc ploughs, 20 harrows and a six-tonne trailer, was driven by.
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Then came the uniform — an elaborately designed red outfit with gold and black embroidery on the sleeves — displayed on the back of a pick-up truck. During the event, Kibaki urged the military to support the incoming administration, led by Uhuru Kenyatta.
Even after Friday’s farewell ceremony, President Kenyatta will remain the Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces until President-elect William Ruto is sworn in on Tuesday next week.
Meanwhile, President-elect William Ruto is reported to be at an advanced stage of constituting his cabinet, after the Supreme Court upheld his election victory early this week.
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