Thousands sing national anthem to unite Kenyans

By Wangui Gichuru

Kenyans from all walks of life on Thursday joined hands to sing all the three stanzas of the National Anthem in solidarity and as a show of peace and unity as March 4 close in.

Under the theme, 1pm, 1 nation, 1 people, 1 anthem united in 1 prayer for 1 Kenya, hundreds of Kenyans observed the national anthem at exactly 1 pm, demonstrating that there is more that unites all of us than divides them.

The singing of the national anthem initiative was launched two years ago by a group of Kenyans from diverse backgrounds, interests, political affiliations, tribe, religion and economic backgrounds who agreed to come together and take a few minutes at exactly 1pm to sing the National Anthem.

Since its inception, every 28th February, Kenyans all over the country at exactly 1 pm stop what they are doing and sing the national anthem after which they carry one with their routine duties. Participating media house, church choirs, musicians and even school children lead the singing.

Today’s national anthem united thousands of Kenyans in prayers including the staff at De-Capture Limited, a private production company.

At 1 o’clock, all the staff stood up, held each other’s hands and sang the entire National Anthem in unison.

Kenyans are preparing for general elections on Monday. Many organisations have joined hands to preach peace and unity, hoping elections will be peaceful. Last general elections left more than 1,300 Kenyans and over 600,000 others internally displaced after skirmished erupted following election disputes.

First published in February 2013.