Uhuru Announces 1,600Km Road Trip [VIDEO]

Speaking in Moyale where he received Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, on Wednesday, December 9, President Uhuru noted that the last Kenyan president to travel the route by road was his father Mzee Jomo Kenyatta. 

“The last Head of State to travel by road from Nairobi to Addis Ababa was my father and I’ll be the second,†he stated expressing excitement. 

The trip would be a very involving adventure for Uhuru, coiling along more than 300 km of hills in the northern part of the country. If lucky, the president will also get a chance to see wildlife.

President Uhuru: The first head of state to travel by road from Nairobi to Ethiopia was my dad, I’ll be the second. #MoyaleOneStopBorderPost @StateHouseKenya @AbiyAhmedAli pic.twitter.com/KivFZMoQ4p

— KBC Channel1 News (@KBCChannel1) December 9, 2020

According to memoirs by his former Social Secretary Elizabeth Madoka, the late president disliked travelling by air.

During his 15 year rule, Mzee Kenyatta preferred to travel by road to neighbouring countries and only flew once outside the country.

In 1969, the founding father took a flight to Ethiopia to visit the then Emperor Haile Selassie who was a very close friend, enough to make Mzee get on a plane.

Uhuru’s intended road trip would be a testament to the improved infrastructure. 

During the engagement with PM Abiy in Moyale, Uhuru inaugurated the 500-kilometre Hawassa-Hagere Mariam-Moyale Road which is part of the Trans African Highway and a key segment of Mombasa-Nairobi-Addis Ababa transport corridor. 

The Head of State encouraged traders from both countries to utilise the new infrastructure to boost cross-border trade.

“We want to see Moyale becoming the Dubai of this whole region, people coming here to buy goods and taking them to other countries. That is the beginning of a true partnership, true cooperation,†the President said.

Uhuru also spoke about cross-border insecurity in the region saying both the Kenyan and Ethiopian authorities will not relent in efforts to ensure lasting peace and tranquillity along the common border.

 â€œWe must also work together because we cannot establish economic victory if we are consistently having security challenges. 

“We must work together as two neighbours to deal with those elements who live within and amongst us and who threaten the peace and stability of Kenya and Ethiopia. We must work together to remove them,†President Kenyatta said.