Honoring the invitation of the government of Kenya, Sierra Leone’s President His Excellency Dr. Julius Maada Bio, on 1st June, 2022, was the guest of honor at the Madaraka Day national celebration and concurrently witnessed the unveiling of the Uhuru Garden National Monument. Madaraka Day is a national holiday in Kenya, celebrated on the 1st day of June every year, to commemorate the attainment of Kenya’s internal self-rule from the British colonial powers, in the year 1963. President Kenyatta as well as other speakers on the day noted the day as a momentous one. President Kenyatta said: “It was a day on which Kenyans asserted that, through the dignity of independence and self-governance, would work hard, together, to create a future of which generations unborn would be proud”. Making his statement on that note, President Bio said: “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 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”. On that same note, President Bio commended the Kenyan nurses and doctors who offered their services in Sierra Leone in 2014 at the height of the country’s Ebola pandemic. The President also added that in recent times the Kenyan government came again to the aid of Sierra Leone by providing computers and other equipment in addressing the country’s first-ever digital population census. President Bio further stated “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. The invitation extended to President Bio on these occasions did not only show the warm expression of friendly bilateral relations between Sierra Leone and Kenya but it also demonstrated strong ties between the two nations, in particular as they seek to enhance economic and trade relations
