President-elect Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto will be sworn-in today following their defeat of Raila Odinga in the presidential elections last month.
The ceremony will be held at the 60, 000-capacity Moi International Sports Centre in Kasarani. The centre was already packed to the rafters with Kenyan citizens this morning.
According to Kenya’s Daily Nation, Kenyatta arrived with his wife, Margaret, this morning. They arrived at the centre at 11:45am, minutes after Deputy President-elect, William Ruto, had been there already.
The two leaders got a hearty round of applause from the spectators in the centre. This is indicative of the fact that the two leaders have support from the people of Kenya.
Kenyatta’s victory was endorsed by the Supreme Court despite Odinga’s bid to reverse the outcome of the presidential elections.
Kenyatta and Ruto face accusations at the International Criminal Court (ICC) regarding Kenya’s post-election hostilities five years ago.
According to the Daily Nation, some of the invited heads of states arrived by 10:45 am this morning but hundreds of thousands of people started coming in at the stadium as early as 5am.
According to the Daily Nation, those attending the function include Presidents Yoweri Museveni (Uganda), Jakaya Kikwete (Tanzania), Salva Kiir (South Sudan), Jacob Zuma (South Africa), Ali Bongo (Gabon), Jonathan Goodluck (Nigeria) and Joseph Kabila (DR Congo).
Others are Paul Kagame (Rwanda), Hassan Sheikh Mohamud (Somalia), Ismail Guelleh (Djibouti), Robert Mugabe (Zimbabwe) and Haile Mariam Desalegn (Ethiopia Prime Minister).
Former President Daniel Arap Moi and former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda are also joining other leaders, the Daily Nation reported.
Former First Lady Mama Ngina Kenyatta, mother to Kenyatta and US Human Rights activist Rev Jesse Jackson also attended, the newspaper added.
According to BBC News Africa, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who faces an ICC arrest following the fighting in Darfur, will not be attending the ceremony.
President Mwai Kibaki will inspect the guard of honour on his arrival. Kenyatta worked as deputy prime minister, minister for trade and finance minister under departing President Kibaki.
The 51-year-old will be Kenya’s youngest president.
