Nairobi’s Uhuru Gardens, the venue where some had speculated Deputy President designate Kithure Kindiki would take his oath on Saturday, October 19 to replace Mr Rigathi Gachagua, was out of bounds to the curious public and the media.
Wrapped in a cloak of grey clouds, the venue remained isolated: no flags fluttering, no crowds milling around. Just a fortress under lock and key.
But beyond the grill of the gate, as far as the eye could see, preparations were ongoing for an event that had been planned earlier.
The military officers manning the premises told Nation.Africa “it's for a private event later in the evening —Malaika Musical Festival — that opens at 5pm.”
Musician Prince Indah, according to a ticketing platform (Ticket Yetu), “is performing live this 19th at Uhuru Gardens.” The tickets were ranging for between Sh1,000 and Sh10,000. Other artists are Emma Jalamo, Waithaka Wa Jane, and Costa Ojwang.
A woman walks past Uhuru Gardens in Nairobi on October 19, 2024.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyagaresi | Nation
On his verified Instagram page, the artiste posted: “On Saturday October 19 will be a big day in Nairobi, we will shut up the city with Malaika Musicals Festival - Nairobi 4th Edition at Uhuru Gardens in Langata.”
“This marks a very important week for Malaika Musicals because it is the week of the biggest cultural event dubbed Malaika Festival,” he said.
As of Friday evening, after the National Assembly approved Prof Kindiki’s nomination as Mr Rigathi’s replacement , some government officials indicated plans were in top gear to spruce up the venue.
But the High Court had on Friday temporarily stopped the replacement of the Deputy President. While a section of the lawyers argued that the orders were overtaken by events, Mr Rigathi’s counsels maintained that their client was still the legitimate Deputy President unless the judiciary pronounced otherwise.
If the swearing-in were to take place in line with the constitution, then by 10 am when Nation.Africa visited the venue, there were no indications of it adhering to the constitutional stands.
The gates were locked and no one was being let in, with the military manning the venue.
According to the constitution 2010, the swearing-in of the Deputy President-elect should be in a public place and shall be before a Chief Justice or a Deputy Chief Justice, in this case Ms Martha Koome or Ms Philomena Mwilu respectively.
Late on Thursday, Mr Gachagua was removed from office by impeachment by the Senate following a similar decision by the Nation Assembly.
From then on, things moved fast with the nomination of Prof Kindiki and his subsequent approval by the National Assembly before the court orders stopped the replacement.
