President William Ruto made an impromptu night tour of the Nairobi City streets on Saturday night ahead of tomorrow’s Africa Forward Summit.
Ruto, who was accompanied by Nairobi City County Governor Johnson Sakaja and Roads Cabinet Secretary Davies Chirchir, conducted a joint inspection of ongoing non-motorised transport (NMT) corridors, street lighting, and road infrastructure works across parts of the city suburbs.
The nocturnal tour saw the leaders inspect key sections of the city under rehabilitation, including the expansion of pedestrian walkways, cycling lanes, drainage improvements and enhanced street lighting.
The tour comes just months after Ruto and Sakaja inked a sh80 billion deal on February 17, touching on key infrastructure, housing and environmental projects aimed at transforming the capital.
On April 9, in a historic first, Ruto addressed members of the Nairobi County Assembly, using the occasion to assure the nation that he was not intending to use the deal to usurp the functions of the devolved unit.
“Nairobi is the engine of our economy, the face of our nation and the standard by which much of the world judges Kenya,” he said, framing the capital’s renewal as a national duty rather than a county concern.
And on Saturday night, Ruto and Sakaja were on the streets to perhaps assure the world that Nairobi is a safe haven not only to tour but invest in, especially at a time when over 30 heads of state and governments start to jet in for tomorrow’s summit.
Sakaja shared the pictures on his social media pages but did not caption them, leaving the public and media to make their own interpretation.
Nairobi will host the Africa Forward Summit from Monday in partnership with France, an event expected to bring together heads of state and business leaders to advance investment and deepen Africa’s global partnerships.
The summit, co-hosted by President Ruto and President Emmanuel Macron of France, will bring together thousands of delegates, including Heads of State and Government, policymakers, investors, innovators, and development partners from across Africa and beyond.
On Sunday, Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio landed at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), becoming one of the first leaders to arrive for the event. He was the second president to arrive following Saturday night’s arrival of his Ivorian counterpart Alassane Qattara.
Already, police have asked Kenyans to expect traffic disruptions during the summit, with main roads in the Central Business District (CBD) that include City Hall Way, Parliament Road, and Taifa Road remaining closed to the public during the two days.
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