- Ruto will visit the county headquarters for a brief ceremony before riding through the town.
- Eldoret municipal board CEO Tito Koiyet said plans for elevation of the town had gone on well.
Image: BY MATHEWS NDANYI
Kenya's fifth city, Eldoret, will be unveiled on Thursday and Uasin Gishu Governor Jonathan Bii will appoint a nine-member board to run it.
President William Ruto will be in the town to hand over the city charter to Governor Bii making Eldoret, raising the country's cities to five after Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu and Nakuru.
According to the official itinerary, Ruto will visit the county headquarters for a brief ceremony before riding through the town on the way to the Eldoret Sports Club where elevation of the town to city status will be proclaimed.
“We are excited about the elevation of our town to city status and the hard work begins to ensure that we build the town to levels where it will be a major hub in the country and beyond,” Bii said.
The town has met all the requirements for elevation but with a population of more than one million people much work is needed to expand the infrastructure and other facilities including schools and hospitals.
Ruto will visit the county headquarters for a brief ceremony before riding through the town with support from residents and the business community.
“All due procedures have been followed to the letter and as the city grows residents will play a bigger role in how it’s managed,” he said.
Koiyet’s board had seven members but the law requires that a city board be managed by nine.
The county has adopted its current logo, used by the municipality of Eldoret since 1964 and which was designed by white settler Derric Stab.
There has been a raging debate in the town over the logo, with some residents rejecting that it has questionable features that go against their religious beliefs.
The logo's main colour is green and its features include the rising sun, a cow, a maize cob, a ribbon, a Nubian giraffe, ploughed land and maize leaves.
Koiyet defended the logo, saying it has been used for the town since Independence and has nothing sinister about it.
“The majority of residents were Kalenjins at the time the logo was designed. The local community has great reverence for the sun because it represents God’s omnipotence, omnipresence and omniscience,” he said.
He said the inclusion of a cow on the logo is in line with the beliefs of the local community. Cows are highly valued in the region because they provide the people with food and represent life.
“There is nothing sinister about the logo because it has been around for more than 60 years and has on it features rooted in the Christian foundation and represents the economic and social practices of our people and all communities in this town,” he said.
Koiyet said with the elevation to city status, Eldoret will bring new opportunities for Kenyans living in the region. The county has hosted a series of activities including a cultural festival to welcome the new city.