Mercy Auma
President Uhuru Kenyatta has today unveiled the statue of Kenyan independence hero, pan-Africanist and former Cabinet Minister, the late Ronald Gideon Ngala in Nairobi CBD.
The statue is located in Nairobi’s downtown area on Ronald Ngala street.
He was accompanied by Sports CS Amina Mohamed and Head of Public Service Dr Joseph Kinyua among other senior Government officials.
Also present was the family of the late political supremo, celebrated for ‘majimboism’, a precursor of modern-day devolution, led by his son and former long-serving Cabinet Minister, Hon Noah Katana Ngala.
1/3 His Excellency President Uhuru Kenyatta on Saturday morning unveiled the statue of Kenyan independence hero, pan-Africanist and former Cabinet Minister, the late Ronald Gideon Ngala on Ronald Ngala Street in downtown Nairobi City. pic.twitter.com/lnBFpdo0wC
— State House Kenya (@StateHouseKenya) December 11, 2021
Read: Uproar As State Announces Plan To Honour Ronald Ngala With Statue
In 2019, Kenyans on social media expressed anger after the government announced that it had planned to honor late politician Ronald Ngala with a statue.
In a tender advert published in the local dailies, the National Museum of Kenya (NMK) announced that it was in a process of procuring the services of an artist, who will design the life-size bronze sculpture, that will be a permanent reminder of the achievements and contributions of Ronald Ngala to the nation.
“The sculpture is envisaged as a dynamic statue showing a recognizable likeness to Ronald Ngala and conveying through stance a heroic presence. It is anticipated to be an imposing, powerful and engaging pose of Ronald Ngala with his right hand lifted up, ” the advert read in part.
A section of netizens wondered why the government was spending money to erect a statue worth millionsin a country where thousands were homeless and sleeping hungry.
Read Also: Gov’t Looking For Investor To Inject Ksh5.9 Billion Into Flagship Ronald Ngala Utalii College
Ronald Ngala statue in a country where kids are homeless, youth are jobless, road coverage is poor, hospital admission personnel are like "m-pesa lady", security starts with the weapon owners etc……
Another statue. President Uhuru is presiding over a very INCOMPETENT govt pic.twitter.com/W09TfuA4uY
— Robert ALAI (@RobertAlai) September 18, 2019
Ngala, a late politician from the coastal region, was the leader of the Kenya African Democratic Union (KADU) from its creation in 1960 until its dissolution in 1964.
He was among the leaders at the Lancaster House Conference in which the pre-independence Constitution was drafted in the early 1960s.
After independence, he served as Minister of Cooperatives and Social Services in President Jomo Kenyatta’s government.
He died in a road accident on December 12, 1972, aged 49.
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