The DP who has been traditionally addressing the preceding national holidays before welcoming the President to give his speech had no chance at the 59 Madaraka fete held at Uhuru Gardens Monument and museum.
The move has sparked mixed reactions across the political divide with the scion of ODM leader Raila Odinga being among those elated over DP’s failure to speak.
Raila Junior, without mentioning his name, seemingly accused the DP of being the one who initially grabbed part of the Uhuru Gardens before it was reclaimed by the government.
It is on that backdrop that he said Uhuru was wise to deny him a chance to speak at a venue where he claimed he had “grabbed”.
“Uhuru Gardens reclaimed. It is said it extended as far as past Lang’ata Primary School. Huyu! angechafua wengi roho angekubaliwa kuongea kwa reclaimed site yet ni mhusika mkuu au sio,” Raila Junior tweeted.
The President in his speech had said the Uhuru Gardens had been illegally taken by unscrupulous people.
He did not mention names of those involved or even hint that his deputy was involved.
“In fact, part of the Wilson Airport runway, to my left, had a Tittle Deed registered in the name of a private entity,” Uhuru said,
“It is on record that the 68 acres on which these sacred grounds sit had fallen into the hands of some unscrupulous individuals. My Administration had to reclaim the ‘grabbed’ site in 2019 and restore its dignity and purity.”