The 61st national Madaraka day celebrations were held at Masinde Muliro Stadium in Bungoma county on 1st June 2024 in a widely hyped national function that Western Kenya residents could not wait to witness.
For close to three months, Wananchi in Bungoma County and across Westerm Kenya waited with bated breath, with the imagination of how this great day would be. True to their expectations, the day finally happened on Saturday 1st June 2024 as the world watched Bungoma County host the very first national event of this magnitude
In his speech, Governor Kenneth Lusaka noted with thanks that the people of Bungoma were indeed witnessing a great day and following the occasion with Joy.
‘’Today is a great day for the people of Bungoma’’ Governor Lusaka would begin his speech
‘’This very stadium that is hosting the auspicious 61st Madaraka day is named after one of the greatest sons of our time, the late Hon. Masinde Muliro a true champion of the second liberation.’’ Governor Lusaka went on.
He went on to thank His Excellency President William Ruto for his choice of Bungoma County as the host of the 61st Madaraka day.
‘’We could not as a County government have achieved this and to this standard, of the stadium even if we saved for 20 years,’’ Governor Lusaka noted with gratitude the intervention of the national government.
Passing his gratitude to the President, the Governor went on to speak of what the County had achieved as part of the preparations to host the national day.
‘’All the major roads in Bungoma town and its environs are well lit hence promoting a 24 hour economy in our town,’’ Governor Lusaka posed, going on the assert that the Matulo air strip in Webuye was now functioning ‘’Our air strip at Matulo can now safely land a 35 seater plane, but it is our wish and focus that in the future it be upgraded to an international airport.’’
On the Stadium, Governor Lusaka applauded intervention by the national government; ‘’Our Masinde Muliro stadium is in the process of being completed with a seating capacity of 20,000 people, with all roads around it well paved and we now have an official State lodge,’’ thanking the President for the projects whose construction was taken over by the national government after the announcement that Bungoma County would host Madaraka day on 1st June 2024
In his speech, the President made the promise that the Matulo air strip was to be expanded further, and that going forward the national government would add a runway after the County bought more land for the expansion of the air strip.
Noting how historic the Madaraka Day event in Bungoma was, Governor Lusaka would go on to say; ‘’If this rotation continues, for people to appreciate what is happening today, the next national celebration to be held in Bungoma will be in 2071, after it has gone round all the other Counties (47)’’ putting emphasis on how long it would take for Bungoma to have the privilege of hosting such a national function
Arrivals
Historic as it was hyped, Madaraka day in Bungoma witnessed thousands stream into the Masinde Muliro stadium as early as 3am, for the sole purpose of catching up with the lifetime opportunity to witness a national celebration, putting in mind that such an occasion might not be held in the County any soon.
School buses ferrying people from across Bungoma County were seen arriving at Kanduyi as potential attendees of the function in their numbers hoped out, rushing to the very long queues manned by security personnel from across different security teams ranging from the police to the military. They would not entertain any disorder, everyone was to follow the laid down protocol, strictly get it right before accessing the stadium.
Many of those who were not lucky to get into the stadium as gates were closed would later be allowed in after the President’s guard of honour
The Madaraka day occasion in Bungoma was to many not just a coveted event but also brought forth a great development leap considering the many strides witnessed in projects such as the dual carriage way from Kanduyi to Musikoma, street lights in various parts of town not forgetting the Masinde Muliro stadium, connecting roads around town and the Matulo air strip
