Burundi President to attend Madaraka Day celebrations

Burundi President Evariste Ndayishimiye

Burundi President Evariste Ndayishimiye will jet into the country on Monday, May 31 to attend Tuesday’s Madaraka Day celebrations.

According to sources within the government, President Ndayishimiye might be the only foreign Head of State to grace the ceremony, which will be held in Kisumu County.

East African Community (EAC) recently named President Ndayishimiye as rapporteur while President Kenyatta was chosen as the community’s chairperson.

In June 2020, President Kenyatta congratulated Ndayishimiye on his election as President and pledged to work with him, saying Burundi was Kenya’s valued development partner.

The visit comes after a similar one to Uganda on May 13 to woo Ugandan investors to invest in Burundi.

This year’s Madaraka Day celebrations will be an invite-only event as part of the Covid-19 measures.

Kisumu Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o said only 3,000 guests have been invited to attend the celebrations.

“Jomo Kenyatta International Stadium can accommodate 35,000 people, however, we have only invited 3,000 which is about 10 per cent of the entire capacity. This is in line with the Covid-19 protocols,” said Governor Nyong’o.

This is the first time Kisumu will host a national ceremony.

Previously, the holidays were presided over in Nairobi until the Jubilee regime revised the trend to rotate the celebrations in counties.

Madaraka Day is celebrated every year on June 1 to commemorate the day Kenya attained internal self-rule in 1963 after colonisation from Britain.