Va va vroom! President Uhuru Kenyatta flags off Safari Rally

By Japheth Mutinda

Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday officially flagged off the World Rally Championships (WRC) Safari Rally at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre, Nairobi.

This marked a 19-year wait for the WRC event to return to the country. The vent will have 58 crews.

Mr Kenyatta, who is also the patron of the Safari Rally, was joined by FIA president Jean Todt, Kenya's Sports Cabinet Secretary (CS) Amina Mohamed, and the WRC Safari Rally CEO Phineas Kimathi for the ceremonial flag off.

The first rally driver of the ramp was Kabras Sugar Racing's Onkar Rai, navigated by Drew Sturrock, followed by  Equator African Rally Championship winner Carl Tundo who is navigated by Tim Jessop.

This year’s World Rally Championships (WRC) Safari Rally is expected to attract more than 825 million viewers with Ksh6 billion (about $60 million) in foreign currency being injected into the economy.

CS Amina Mohamed had on Wednesday disclosed that traffic will be on online games participants on Safari play station and global television viewership.

This article was originally published by The East African. [Photo: Nation Media Group]