Preparations are set for the swearing-in of president-elect William Ruto and his deputy Rigathi Gachagua which will happen tomorrow at the Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani, Nairobi.
Head of Public Service, Dr. Joseph Kinyua, announced tomorrow a public holiday as thousands of Kenyans are expected to attend the inauguration ceremony.
“The day of the swearing-in shall be a public holiday of general observance throughout the territory of the Republic of Kenya,” Kinyua said.
He also noted that the ceremony would take place between 10 am and 2 pm.
A draft programme seen by The Informer shows that the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), which has been conducting its rehearsals at Kasarani, will be in charge of the entire event scheduled to start at 10 am.
According to the programme, all guests and members of the public will be expected to have taken their seats at the stadium by 10 am in order to pave way for Service Commanders of the three military formations including the Kenya Army, Kenya Air Force and Kenya Navy and the who will be expected to be seated by 10.30 am.
Invited heads of states and government are expected to make their way into the stadium by 11am and five minutes thereafter be followed by the chief of Defense Forces, Gen Robert Kibochi.
The Assumption of Office Committee, which was tasked with facilitating handover of the instruments of power to the incoming government, met last week on Tuesday to finalize transition plans.
The team’s role was to organize the necessary facilities and personnel for the president-elect, facilitate communication between the incoming and the outgoing President, as well as preparing the programme of the activities that are set to happen tomorrow.
The National Treasury Committee allocated Sh200 million to cater for Assumption of office activities and to ensure smooth transition to the next administration.
As per the constitution, the president elect is expected to take oath of office as administered by the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary, Anne Amadi before the Chief Justice, Martha Koome.
President Uhuru Kenyatta said that he will be in attendance as he hands over power to Ruto and will ensure that the transition of power will run smoothly.
Other heads of state have confirmed their attendance including Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni, Samia Suluhu of Tanzania Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Evariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi, Felix Tshikedi of DRC Congo, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of Somalia and Salva Kiir Mayardit of South Sudan.
United States President Joe Biden announced a Presidential Delegation to attend the ceremony tomorrow which will be led by the Honorable Katherine Kai, US Trade Representative.
Japan will be represented by a special envoy of Prime Minister Makihara Hideki, South Korea will have Choung Byoung Gug who is the chairman of the central committee of the People Power Party and China will have Liu Yuxi, a special representative of the Chinese Government on African Affairs.
Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho who is a member of the Assumption of Office of the President Committee, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is already making protocol arrangements to handle the guests.
He urged Kenyans planning to attend to be at the Kasarani stadium by 7 am.
Security at the stadium has been tightened ahead of the ceremony.