Pomp and colour at historic Madaraka fete outside Nairobi

Reigning Miss World Mireia Lalaguna and Reigning Miss World Asia Maria Harfanti arriving for the Madarak Day celebration at Afraha Stadium on June 1,2016. [PHOTO:KIPSANG JOSEPH/Standard]

Pomp and flamboyance marked the 53rd Madaraka Day celebrations which, for the first time, were held outside Nairobi at Nakuru's Afraha stadium.

From as early as 6am when the gates of Afraha Stadium were opened, Kenyans from all walks of life made their way to the venue to witness the occasion.

The occasion was graced by world beauty queens, including reigning Miss World Mireia Lalaguna, Asia beauty queen Maria Harfanti and their Kenyan host Roshanara Ibrahim. Their presence was acknowledged by Deputy President William Ruto.

Preparations for the event had meticulously been done, with Governor Kinuthia Mbugua sprucing up the town and painting Government buildings along the road leading to Afraha Stadium.

President Kenyatta's motorcade snaked into the stadium at exactly 11.10am – 20 minutes late according to the programme – to a thunderous applause from the excited crowd.

And after doing rounds in the ceremonial open Land-Rover waving to the ecstatic crowd chanting messages of welcome, he inspected a guard of honour escorted by the Chief of General Staff General Samson Mwathethe.

At exactly 11.36am, fighter jets took to the usually serene skies of Nakuru with unique sky formations. The Air Force pilots put up a spectacular air show for three minutes, pulling off a series of incredible stunts.

Being the first time to be held outside Nairobi, yesterday's celebrations caused a lockdown in Nakuru town.

Earlier in the day, police manned all access routes to the Central Business District. And from as early as 5am, vehicles were not allowed into the town as regular and traffic police assisted by National Youth Service personnel took charge of the roads.

Roads leading to the stadium that were no-go zones included Geoffrey Kamau, Kariba, Moi and Oginga Odinga.

Business in Nakuru town came to a standstill as wananchi opted to attend the celebrations at Afraha stadium.

"I do not want to miss it. I have always wanted to attend and see the President address such events but they have always been done in Nairobi and today was a chance for me to actualise my dream," said Jayne Wamucii from Molo.

Wamucii, just like other thousands of residents, braved the hot sun for hours to listen to the President and other dignitaries who addressed the occasion.

But there were moments when things went wrong. Just before Ruto was invited to give his remarks and invite Uhuru, a young man beat the security cordon and made his way to the President.

Another lapse was when the programme was stopped for about 20 minutes as wananchi who had been locked outside the stadium overpowered security at one of the entrances and they were allowed in without being screened.

Many leaders expressed hope that with the current activities and visits by the President and his deputy to the region, the town would regain its lost glory; when it used to be the hotbed of Kenya's politics.

Nakuru Town East MP David Gikaria said the high-level visits by the country's top leadership showed all is not lost for its residents.