President Uhuru Kenyatta has announced that this year’s Madaraka Day celebrations will be held in Kajiado County.
He spoke when he arrived back into Kenya from Arusha, Tanzania, where he attended the 20th Heads of State Summit of the East African Community.
The President’s announcement is in line with a recent trend in which celebrations to mark some national holidays are held in the Counties, a departure from the past when all such events were held in Nairobi.
The President who was accompanied by Deputy President William Ruto and Burundi Vice President Gaston Sindimwo travelled from Namanga by road, making close to a dozen stopovers to address the public.
Kajiado Governor Joseph Ole Lenku hosted the leaders for lunch at Oletepes Picnic Site in Kiserian.
In his speeches during the stopovers, the President spoke on regional integration saying that governments in the East African Community are committed to ensuring the region becomes one entity without restrictions of internal boundaries.
“We will continue strengthening our ties (EAC countries) until the day we unite and our citizens become one and we no longer have border posts,” said the President when he spoke at the Namanga One-Stop Border Post.
He said it was time for Africa to take its destiny in its own hands and chart a peaceful future for its people.
The President encouraged the border communities to live in peace and to take advantage of the various EAC treaties and facilities to engage in cross border trade.
He said border communities must ensure they live in harmony with each other because progress cannot be achieved in the absence of peace adding that the Government has an obligation to ensure that citizens enjoy better services.
“We want to live in a democratic society where the government serves the people and not the other way round,” Uhuru said.
The Head of State said citizens should take a more active role in demanding for their rights from Government officers as their contribution to the fight against corruption and impunity.
He urged members of the public to always make sure they get details of any government official who they encounter soliciting or receiving bribes.
Uhuru also inspected the ongoing construction of Ngong-Kiserian-Isinya-Mashuru Road where he expressed satisfaction with the quality and speed of construction works and promised to go back and commission the road soon.
The President spoke at the Namanga One-Stop Border Post, Maili Tisa, Bisil, Kajiado, Isinya, Kiserian and Ngong among other stops.