Uhuru Kenyatta’s 2nd Inauguration
It was a pleasure being on the frontline of a significant moment in Kenya’s history, thanks to IMG Kenya and the doors that pursuing my passion have opened for me. I was called upon to cover the second inauguration of Kenya’s fourth president on 28th November 2017 at the Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi.
A day before the inauguration, we had a security briefing that went into the night at Kasarani, just to make sure we were all clear about what needed to be captured, and that we knew areas we could and couldn’t access for security reasons as we took our shots.
We were a team of six professional photographers, each assigned a different section of the stadium and it’s environs, to make sure no inauguration activity was left uncovered. I was assigned the crowd and I wouldn’t have wished for better: I believe some of the best shots come from people’s reactions to whatever’s happening.
After less than four hours of sleep, we met outside the stadium at 5am and my work started immediately; I met 16-year-old Kevin Kamoni selling flags outside the stadium.
Past the gates, thousands of Kenyans were trooping in for a front-row view of the inauguration.
I didn’t think of this when I took the shot but there is symbolism of the number 42 and the number of tribes we have in Kenya.
By 7am, the stadium had already started filling up. The main ceremony wasn’t scheduled to start until after 11am.
Their excitement was beautifully visible.
Moses Gichuki is helped by friends to access the stadium.
Pupils from Kahawa Primary School.
Martin Kamotho aka Githeri Man rose to fame during the August 8th elections. I found him being interviewed by NPR.
Teresa Ihanja couldn’t hide her excitement as she stood up to dance for joy.
Kaymo and Stigah electrified the crowd (pun intended) with their performance.
IMG Kenya got me a special access pass which allowed me to get quite close to the president-elect.
He went by me like we’d never met before. Mschew…
I spotted this member of the KDF guiding an old lady to where she needed to be. Great service to the public.
That’s all I’m able to share for now. More will be in print at a later date.