- Currently, there are eight gazetted state lodges dotted in various parts of the country and three state houses, all classed as protected areas.
- The lodges are Sagana, Kisumu, Eldoret, Kakamega, Kitale, Rumuruti, Cherangany and Kisii while the state houses are in Nairobi, Mombasa and Nakuru.
Image: COURTESY
President William Ruto is set to officially open what will be the ninth state lodge in the country when he leads the nation in marking this year’s Mashujaa Day celebrations in Kericho.
The building which was formerly the residence of the county commissioner has been given a facelift with works set to be completed this week.
Currently, there are eight gazetted state lodges dotted in various parts of the country and three state houses, all classed as protected areas.
Section 3 (1) of the Protected Areas Act states that no person will be allowed to such places without permission of the prescribed authority or the Cabinet Secretary for Interior.
The prescribed authority here means the Inspector General of Police.
The lodges are Sagana, Kisumu, Eldoret, Kakamega, Kitale, Rumuruti, Cherangany and Kisii while the state houses are in Nairobi, Mombasa and Nakuru.
All these areas are guarded by officers only drawn from the General Service unit.
They are purposely reserved for the President to hold official and private meetings and also act as presidential residences.
The renovations being supervised by senior officials from public works have seen a new perimeter wall put up around the area with new structures for staff also being erected.
Image: COURTESY
Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo who is also the National Celebrations Steering Committee made an inspection tour of the facility on August 23 during his visit to the county.
This year's celebrations are centered on the Universal Health Care (UHC) which is a crucial pillar aligned with the government's agenda of Vision 2030 targets.
Kericho was picked to host this year’s rotational celebrations on June 2 by Head of Public Service Felix Koskei in a memo addressed to Interior Cabinet Secretary Kindiki Kithure.
“After consultations, this year’s Mashujaa Day will be celebrated in Kericho County on Friday, October 20. The theme of the celebrations will be Universal Health Care (UHC). The Thematic committee should start the process of designing activities leading to the launch of the UHC program at the venue,” Koskei said.
"In this regard, please note that the Thematic Committee should start the process of designing activities leading to the launch of the UHC programme at the venue."
During the celebrations to be held at the Kericho Green Stadium, national heroes are set to be honoured by the head of state.
The National Heroes Council has already invited Kenyans to submit names of persons for recognition.
In a notice, the public had until August 29 to forward the names of the nominees.
“Pursuant to provisions of Sections 22 of the Act, the public is hereby notified that the council is calling for submissions of proposals for the nomination of suitable persons to be recommended for declaration as heroes and heroines,” read the notice.
Council’s chairman Adan Wachu said the proposals will be evaluated as per the Kenya Heroes Act.
The decision to have the National Days hosted on a rotational basis by counties was started in 2016 by former President Uhuru Kenyatta.