Safari Rally’s return triggers excitement in Kenya

NAIROBI: Silent for 19 years, the Safari Rally returned to Kenya on Thursday with thousands of fans gathering in Nairobi for the landmark moment in Africa.

Notorious for its rough and rugged rushes across savannah and escarpment, the race fell off the world circuit in 2002 due to concerns over safety, organisation and finances.

But on Thursday, thousands of supporters from across East Africa began arriving in the Kenyan capital from dawn, a full six hours before the competitors were flagged off by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

“I arrived very early because I didn’t want to miss the cars,” said Becky Kamau, who had pulled her 10-year-old son out of school to watch the event.

The Safari Rally’s planned return last year was aborted because of the…