Residents from all walks of life across Bomet County have, this morning, thronged the Kabungut Secondary School grounds to attend celebrations to mark this year’s Mashujaa Day graced by Governor Prof Hillary Barchok.

With the theme “Transforming Lives Through Sustainable Energy Solutions”, this year’s edition of Mashujaa Day majorly dwelled on calls to adopt cleaner, more efficient energy systems that not only protect the environment but also drive inclusive economic growth.

Addressing the function, Governor Barchok congratulated President William Samoei Ruto, who was led the National Mashujaa Day Celebrations in Machakos County.

Prof. Barchok also used the opportunity to celebrate Kenya’s father of democracy, thd late Rt. Hon. Raila Odinga who was laid to rest in his Bondo home, Siaya County, yesterday. The governor described the late Raila as a nationalist, a Pan-Africanist and a Shujaa who ferociously fought for the democracy that every Kenyan enjoys today.

In line with calls to conserve the environment, Governor Barchok said that Bomet county was firmly committed to environmental stewardship, shifting away from extractive practices that deplete our natural resources towards safe, clean and sustainable energy solutions.

“We have taken concrete steps to embrace renewable energy technologies, actively promoting their adoption across the county. From solar installations to biogas systems and other sustainable innovations, these solutions are steadily being embraced,” said the governor.

He further said that his administration had expanded street lighting infrastructure across urban centres by installing and
maintaining floodlights in key towns and trading centres to boost security for the business community.

“We have installed twenty-four (24) additional floodlights in our municipalities, while carefully maintaining the existing systems to ensure that our people can go about their businesses even late into the night,” added the governor.

In his speech, the governor recognized the common mwananchi who contributes to nation building, the farmer who wakes before dawn to eke a living, the Mama mboga who sells her wares to feed her family or school her children, the health worker who works at the frontline to deliver quality care, the teacher who nurtures
young learners into future mashujaa, the community health volunteer who walks from home to home, providing basic health education and preventive services and that county employee who serves the public with selflessness and integrity.

He concluded by calling upon everyone to participate in their civic duty to be stewards of the environment, saying that it is what it meant to be a contemporary hero.

The function was also attended by Ag. County Commissioner, Reuben Ratemo, MCAs, among other dignitaries.