President William Ruto urged Kenyans to plant trees, emphasising that flooding and drought were significant environmental concerns.

Kenyan officials have commenced a nationwide tree-planting initiative as part of a national day of mourning for those who perished in recent devastating floods.

President William Ruto, on Friday, implored Kenyans to unite in planting trees, highlighting flooding and drought as pressing environmental concerns.

Addressing a tree-planting event in central Kenya, Ruto encouraged citizens to plant a minimum of 50 trees each to achieve the day’s objective of planting 200 million trees.

Government officials, including cabinet ministers, are coordinating similar planting efforts across the nation.

The recent floods in Kenya have claimed the lives of at least 230 individuals and displaced over a quarter of a million.

The government designated Friday as a public holiday for citizens to plant trees and honour those lost in the calamity.

Interior CS Kithure Kindiki emphasised that the day would contribute to addressing climate change, stating that "tree growing is the singular long-term solution to the climate crisis and its devastating effects on life and livelihoods."

Kenya, alongside other regions of East Africa, has been inundated by floods, leading to over 235,000 people being displaced and seeking refuge in numerous camps.

President Ruto also announced the nationwide reopening of schools, following a two-week delay caused by heavy rains that inflicted damage on hundreds of schools.

The government disclosed that over 1,000 schools were impacted by the intense rainfall and flooding and allocated funds for repair work.