President Uhuru Kenyatta was on Thursday overwhelmed and humbled by the love of the Kisumu people who poured to the streets to welcome him as he arrived in the city to inspect development projects. The mad love displayed by the locals send the president into confusion to a a point of publicly petitioning his wife the First Lady H E Mama Margret Kenyatta to allow him to get a “Kisumu-based helper”.
The president was accompanied by the former Prime Minister The Rt Hon Dr Engineer Raila Odinga, Kisumu Governor Anyang\’ Nyong\’o, several cabinet secretaries and a host of local leaders as they drummed up support for the newly released Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report.
Uhuru’s security detail, in videos shared on social media had a rough time controlling multitudes that had lined up the streets and walkways.
During the tour, Uhuru, Raila and several leaders had a light moment, breaking in a leg in the sensational Jerusalema challenge.
Earlier on Thursday, President Kenyatta laid the foundation for the construction of an international-standard’s Sports Complex at the Kisumu showgrounds
The Complex will be opened next April with Uhuru saying its grand opening will culminate in a epic football match between Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards
Shortly after, he made a stop over in Kisumu town where he urged residents to support BBI, saying that it will foster National unity.
He also dismissed BBI critics saying they were opposing the report without even reading it.
He also noted that some issues raised in the report may not necessitate a referendum, welcoming crititics to the table to chart ways in which the report can be made better.
“What is the problem with allowing HELB loanees to pay loans only when they get jobs? What is the problem with achieving the two-third gender rule? Is it wrong to give our young people loans to start their own businesses?” President Uhuru posed.
