Nairobi — The Government estimates around 20,000 people to attend this year's Jamhuri day celebrations slated for Monday next week.
Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo told Journalists Wednesday when he led the National Celebrations Committee in inspecting preparedness at Nyayo Stadium that adequate preparations have been put in place to ensure the success of the event.
CS Omollo stated that all Kenyans are welcome to the event which will be the first Jamhuri celebrations since President William Ruto took over the country's leadership.
"The celebrations will begin earlier than usual. We expect everybody to be seated by 8 am. We are calling upon Kenyans to come early so that then we can have a good and beautiful Jamhuri day celebration," he said.
For those who will not be able to attend the event, the Interior CS said that similar celebrations will be held across the counties.
CS Omollo stated that going forward the celebrations will take a different connotation saying the December 12 celebrations will be themed around Technology and Digital Economy.
Yesterday, President Ruto announced thematic celebrations going forward revealing that this year's Jamhuri Day will be about Kenya's growth in the Information, Communication, and Technology sectors.
During the course of the week, the Ministry of ICT together with other stakeholders (both local and international) will showcase innovations in technology and what the government is doing in the digital space.
This will culminate in high-level engagements and exhibitions at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) on Saturday and Sunday where global online job opportunities will be available for the youth.
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"The slogan will be to connect, innovate and inspire. What we have done is we have launched a weeklong celebration that was launched yesterday at the sari Centre by president William Ruto and we have also aggressively involved guys in the ICT sector," he said.
He added that they expect a number of guests both locally and globally to grace the event.
The celebration will also involve military displays and entertainment from several teams drawn from different parts of the country.
In regard to the movement of vehicles, the Interior CS stated that the Government will in due course release an advisory that will guide the movement of people and dignitaries during the event.
The Principal Secretary of ICT and Digital Economy, John Tanui, a member of the National Celebrations Committee, on his part announced free technology scholarships for certification courses for any eligible adult attending the 59th Jamhuri Day celebrations in person at the Nyayo Stadium on Monday.
The scholarships will be offered at the various universities partnering with the National Government such as Arizona State University and the Thunderbird School of Global Management.
"Everyone will be assured of a scholarship for a certification course or a course that will enable them access some of the opportunities available online. We want to make our country the top talent of the world and the region," said Tanui.
