All is set for the 62nd Madaraka Day celebrations in Homa Bay, with excitement already gripping the lakeside town as thousands of Kenyans packed into the newly refurbished Raila Odinga Stadium overnight, eager to be part of a moment that marks a historic first for the region.

The official commencement of the national event is expected to begin in the next few hours with the arrival of President William Ruto and Slovenian President Nataša Pirc Musar, who is in the country on a state visit and who will serve as the day’s chief guest.

The two leaders’ arrival will mark the formal start of proceedings, including the ceremonial flag-raising, national address, and cultural showcases.

Other African heads of state are also expected to grace the occasion, while the country’s political class is also set to flock to Homa Bay to join the president and fellow Kenyans in marking the national celebration.

As is tradition, district commissioners are expected to lead parallel festivities across the country, with Baringo County having already confirmed that its county-level celebration will be held at Barwessa Primary School in Baringo West.

According to reports by a local television station, the gates to the Raila Odinga Stadium have already been closed, as guests have taken up every available space in the recently launched stadium.

Videos aired by the TV station also showed officers from the National Police Service and the Kenya Defence Forces strategically stationed across the vast stadium, as excited Kenyans continued to chant and cheer in anticipation of the official start of the national ceremony.

By midnight on Saturday, May 31, 2025, the 20,000-seater stadium had already filled to capacity, with images shared online by Nairobi’s Kileleshwa Ward MCA Robert Alai showing a fully lit arena teeming with colour, as attendees draped in jerseys, jackets and traditional attire waved flags and settled into their seats under the stadium floodlights.

Crowds began to form as early as 7:00 pm, prompting security teams to open the stadium gates at around 9:30 pm to allow the surging queue of residents to access sitting areas, many of whom expressed joy and pride at witnessing Madaraka Day hosted in their own backyard.

By 10:30 pm, the venue was more than halfway full, and by midnight, not a single seat remained empty — a turnout that surprised even seasoned leaders like MCA Alai, who proposed that the current crowd be rotated out by 6:00 am to allow fresh attendees to enter ahead of the official start.

“The night crowd must exit the stadium at 6:00 am to usher in the fresh crowd outside. Why stay with one crowd if you can change it? Thank you, people of Homa Bay. We started this fight when no one believed in us. Ruto is the president!” Alai remarked, celebrating both the turnout and the symbolic weight of the moment.

Homa Bay on the national stage

This year’s Madaraka Day, which commemorates Kenya’s journey to internal self-rule in 1963, is set against a backdrop of unity and transformation, with Homa Bay — a traditional ODM stronghold — now stepping into the national spotlight following the political détente between Raila Odinga and President Ruto.

The celebrations will take place under the theme “Harnessing Kenya’s Blue Economy for Sustainable Growth,” a message anchored on the country’s strategic location on the shores of Lake Victoria and its potential as a maritime and economic hub.

Speaking from Tom Mboya University on Saturday, government spokesperson Isaac Mwaura said this year’s Madaraka Day would reflect the Kenya Kwanza administration’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda, with the blue economy now central to the national development conversation.

“This year’s Madaraka Day, held in the heart of the Nyanza region, is more than a celebration; it is a testament to the government’s commitment to inclusive growth through sustainable use of our water resources,” Mwaura stated.