End of an era: No more political rallies at Uhuru Park, CS Duale declares

Defence Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has said that no political rallies or meetings will be allowed in the revamped Uhuru and Central Parks in Nairobi.

The CS said the two parks, which have been upgraded at a cost of Sh1.18 billion, will never again host such political events.

Appearing before the Senate Wednesday, Mr Duale said they would not allow the two parks to return to their old dilapidated state. 

He urged the political class to find another venue for their rallies, saying the parks belong to the citizens for their enjoyment.

"This park will never again be used by politicians for rallies. It is out of bounds. Let us keep politics and our supporters out of the park. Those in the political class will have to find another venue," said CS Duale. 

"It (Uhuru Park) was the best place for the popular parties to show their might, they can increase their numbers but you know our supporters. If they stay there for an hour, the park will go back to what it was before," he added.

The CS was responding to a question from Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna on the rationale behind the demolition of the popular Uhuru Park Pavilion, where politicians used to hold rallies and meetings.

"What was the rationale for demolishing the main pavilion where we used to address our supporters?" asked Mr Sifuna. 

At the same time, Mr Duale said they would on Thursday hand over the two parks to the Nairobi County government and sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between his ministry and the county government on their management during the interim period.

He said what remained of the redevelopment work, which began in 2022 and is being carried out by the Kenya Defence Forces, were some final touches. 

"Only 8 per cent of the pending works remain, including the connection of the borehole drilled in Central Park to a water tank and the construction of the main drainage system, which has been delayed due to ongoing works by KeNHA along the Uhuru Highway," the CS said. 

"To ensure that we help the Governor, we have agreed that we will leave behind our technical team including the engineers, architects and landscapers who are part of the project and have signed an MoU to stay for the next six months to help them acclimatise," he added.

Mr Duale called on Governor Johnson Sakaja's administration to allocate funds for proposed additional facilities in the parks including a dancing water fountain, CCTV installation, pedestrian bridge and more restaurants.

The development comes after Senator Sifuna asked the CS about the status of the renovation works at the iconic parks and whether they have been handed over to City Hall and if not, a timeline for the same.

Mr Duale added that there will be no fees to enter Uhuru Park, but the county government and relevant stakeholders will agree on what to charge for Central Park, which he said must be very minimal.

A week ago, Governor Sakaja defended the planned fee, saying a lot of work had been done on the park, making it reasonable for the county to introduce new charges, unlike before when it was free.

The park has an amphitheatre, a skating rink, an open-air library, terraces that can be used for group meetings and a venue suitable for weddings and other events.

"Central Park is the only one that charges a fee because of its remote or designated areas," Sakaja said.

He said there will be 24-hour security at the two parks, manned by inspectors and police officers, with police posts at both facilities.

Part of the security procedures will be the presentation of ID cards to security officers at the point of entry. 

"We are setting up a management system from the gate so that when you come in you can leave your ID for us to make sure there is security, to know who has come in, so we don't have the wrong people lazing around in that place or creating insecurity," says Mr Sakaja.