An unusually low turnout at the Uhuru Gardens marked the 2022 Mashujaa Day celebrations on Thursday.

This was the first Mashujaa day under President William Ruto as the president of the Republic of Kenya.

Seats remained empty for the entire ceremony even though the venue was open to the public very early in the morning, which sharply contrasted with the last national holiday that was held at the same venue when attendance was controlled.


The Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho had projected that over 20,000 guests were expected to attend the celebration but the seats were yet to be filled by 11 am.

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Despite the dismal turnout, the Mashujaa Day celebrations went on as scheduled.

Once the president arrived at the venue, he inspected the guard of honour before witnessing the Kenyan forces march by and the Kenya Airforce air show.


Entertainment of guests by Kenyan artists and performances by various groups kicked off as expected on any public holiday and went on for a while before the president gave his speech.

However, it remains unclear why Kenyans gave the Thursday event a wide berth.