Eldoret—Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, serving as the chief guest of honor, delivered an address on Tuesday during Kenya’s 63rd Mashujaa Day celebrations at Kipchoge Keino Stadium, emphasizing friendship, shared history, and practical partnership between the two neighboring countries.
Abiy arrived in Eldoret earlier in the day and was received by President William Ruto, First Lady Rachel Ruto, and other Kenyan leaders. The event, co-hosted for the first time by Uasin Gishu, Nandi, and Elgeyo-Marakwet counties under the theme “Security, Sports, and the Economy,” drew thousands of Kenyans and featured military displays and cultural performances.
In his speech, Abiy brought greetings from the people of Ethiopia, telling the gathering that he felt at home among friends and family. He noted the similarities between the highlands of Eldoret, Kenya’s breadbasket, and those of Ethiopia, observing that farmers in both countries share the purpose of feeding their people and building better lives from the land.
He honored Kenya’s independence struggle, recalling the October 1952 arrest of Jomo Kenyatta and the Kapenguria Six, and drew a parallel with Ethiopia’s own history of resisting foreign aggression, including the Battle of Adwa in 1896. “Different struggle, one conviction that our future is ours to share,” he said, adding that African freedom was won by people who refused to surrender their dignity.
Abiy highlighted the spirit of “medemer” (synergy) that guides Ethiopia’s approach to cooperation. He pointed to concrete examples of the Kenya-Ethiopia partnership, including the power interconnection line that has carried clean energy across the border since 2022 and the road linking Mombasa to Hawassa. He also praised Safaricom’s expansion in Ethiopia, noting that the company now connects millions of Ethiopians and that M-Pesa enables people to send money and make payments.
“We race as rivals. We build as partners,” Abiy said, underscoring that the two countries compete in some areas while collaborating for mutual benefit. He closed by affirming that the task ahead is to make freedom count.
The invitation of Abiy as guest of honor underscores the close diplomatic, trade, and infrastructure ties between Kenya and Ethiopia. The two countries have previously signed multiple memoranda of understanding covering energy, tourism, culture, and other areas.