In a historic announcement during his Jamhuri Day speech, President William Ruto said that starting in January 2024, Kenya will become a visa-free country.
“It shall no longer be necessary for any person from any corner of the globe to carry the burden of applying for a visa to come to Kenya,” Ruto said Tuesday to a cheering crowd at Uhuru Gardens in Nairobi. “To echo the call of the Turkana people to the world: ‘Tobong’u Lorre!’ Kenya has a simple message to humanity: Welcome Home!”
The move fulfills a key campaign pledge by Ruto to boost tourism through opening up the country. The government has developed a digital platform for all travelers to Kenya to obtain electronic travel authorization in advance.
Ruto struck an optimistic tone during the strongly worded speech, saying Kenya has navigated its way “out of a difficult and complicated debt situation” through austerity measures.
“There is every reason to believe that without serious sacrifices and hard work over the past year, the crises, threats and challenges in the global economic and geopolitical environment confronting us would have overwhelmed us,” he said.
Ruto also highlighted increased investments in education and healthcare and job creation through housing construction projects.
“Our strategic focus is to construct thousands of housing units while creating millions of jobs,” he said, adding that 33 active sites are already employing 120,000 people.
Ruto mostly skirted the issue of corruption, only urging institutions to prosecute “all those involved in corruption, without regard to their social, economic or political status.”
Kenya became independent from Britain on Dec. 12, 1963. Jamhuri Day is celebrated annually to mark the country becoming a republic a year later.
As Ruto noted, the day provides a chance for Kenyans to reflect on their progress.
“Sixty years ago, on a day like this, Kenya took its final step of the freedom struggle to become a sovereign Republic,” he said.
