Honouring the invitation of the Government of Kenya, Sierra Leone’sPresident Dr. Julius Maada Bio, on 1st June, 2022, was the guest of honour at theMadaraka Day national celebration and concurrently witnessed the unveiling ofthe Uhuru Garden National Monument. Madaraka Day is a national holiday inKenya, celebrated on the 1st day of June every year, to commemorate theattainment of Kenya’s internal self-rule from the British colonial powers, in theyear 1963.President Kenyatta as well as other speakers on the day noted the day as amomentous one. President Kenyatta said: “It was a day on which Kenyansasserted that, through the dignity of independence and self-governance, wouldwork hard, together, to create a future of which generations unborn would beproud”.
Making his statement on that note, President Bio said: “Our two nations have stood together in war, in peace, and insolidarity.” “We have pursued a collective agenda and continued to deepen cooperation at the bilateral and multilaterallevels. President Kenyatta’s great work in this country from electricity, ports, roads, railway, and housing, to healthcare,education, food security and growing the Kenyan economy through trade and investment has shown us in Sierra Leonewhat is possible.” “We are also here to strengthen our ties with Kenya in areas of international cooperation, peace andsecurity, wildlife and tourism, ICT and education, and trade and investment”.
On that same note, President Bio commendedthe Kenyan nurses and doctors who offered their services in Sierra Leone in 2014 at the height of the country’s Ebolapandemic.The President also added that in the spirit of South-South cooperation, theGovernment of Kenya provided tablets and power banks to assist Sierra Leone inthe undertaking of its mid-term Housing and Population Census. In his closingremarks, His Excellency revered “the fraternal bond between our two nationst h a t keeps getting stronger. On Sunday, I joined the Kenya Defence Forcesto celebrate the heroism of four young Kenyans and the sacrifices ofthousands of Kenyan soldiers who fought to restore peace and stability in SierraLeone.
If we are today the fourth most peaceful democracy in Africa, it ispartly because of the sacrifice of Kenyans. Thank you,” he concluded. Theinvitation extended to President Bio on these occasions not only showed thewarm expression of friendly bilateral relations between Sierra Leone and Kenyabut also demonstrated strong ties between the two nations, in particular as theyseek to enhance economic and trade relations.
