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His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio has joined the Kenyan President, His Excellency Uhuru Kenyatta, to unveil the Uhuru Garden National Monument as a guest of honour at the 2022 Madaraka Day celebration.
Madaraka day is a national holiday in Kenya, celebrated on the 1st day of the month of June every year, to commemorate the attainment of Kenya’s internal self-rule from the British colonial powers, in the year 1963.
“It is a momentous day, as President Kenyatta and previous speakers have indicated. It is a day on which Kenyans asserted that, through the dignity of independence and self-governance, they would work hard, together, to create a future of which generations unborn would be proud."
“Our two nations have stood together in war, in peace, and in solidarity. We have pursued a collective agenda and continued to deepen cooperation at the bilateral and multilateral levels. President Kenyatta’s great work in this country – from electricity, ports, roads, railway, housing, to healthcare, education, food security and growing the Kenyan economy through trade and investment – has shown us in Sierra Leone what is possible.
We are, therefore, also here to strengthen our ties with Kenya in areas of international cooperation, peace and security, wildlife and tourism, ICT and education, and trade and investment,” he said.
President Bio also recalled that when Ebola struck Sierra Leone in 2014, Kenyan nurses and doctors were at hand to see the country and its people through, adding that when they recently faced challenges for computing equipment for the country’s first-ever digital population census, President Kenyatta extended a hand of typical Kenyan generosity.
“Our paths since independence for our nascent African nations of Kenya and Sierra Leone may have been different. In each of our own ways, it has been arduous, maybe not what our forefathers imagined, and probably best left untold.
“But more importantly, the fraternal bond between our two nations keeps getting stronger. On Sunday, I joined the Kenya Defence Forces to celebrate the heroism of four young Kenyans and the sacrifices of thousands of Kenyan soldiers who fought to restore peace and stability in Sierra Leone. If we are today the fourth most peaceful democracy in Africa, it is partly because of the sacrifice of Kenyans. Thank you,” he concluded.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Republic of Sierra Leone State House.
