NAIROBI, Kenya Sep 25 – The government has suspended parallel national celebrations in counties for this year’s Mashujaa day scheduled for October 20, 2021 to tame the spread of COVID-19.
Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho said the fete will only be marked in Kirinyaga County, a departure from the traditional practice where County Commissioners have been leading similar celebrations at the grassroots.
“Kirinyaga County will be the host for this year’s Mashujaa Day. No celebrations will be held in other counties as it has always been the case. We don’t want to escalate the spread of COVID-19, and that is why we are freezing similar activities in other counties,” he said.
Kenya’s COVID-19 death toll as at September 24, 2021 stood at 5,082 with 248,069 cases.
Kibicho made the announcement Friday after inspecting the preparations at Wanguru Stadium, the venue for the event that will be led by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
He said that the facility is almost 80 percent complete and will be delivered by October 5th alongside the County Commissioner’s residence in Kerugoya, which will double up as a State Lodge.
“We are satisfied with the progress made so far. From the brief we have received from the construction team, we have never been closer to this level of preparation ahead of a national holiday. This and other infrastructure meant to facilitate this year’s event will be ready by October 5,” he said.
Kirinyaga will join Nakuru, Machakos, Meru, Nyeri, Kakamega, Mombasa, Narok, and Kisii that have hosted two of the three national holidays since 2015 when President Uhuru Kenyatta directed that the celebrations be held outside Nairobi on a rotational basis.
