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Former President Uhuru Kenyatta watches Miami Heat stun Boston Celtics

Former President Uhuru Kenyatta at the TD Garden. Photo courtesy

By Michael Kirwa | 25 Apr 2024

The former President was spotted at the TD Garden in Boston Celtics faced Miami Heat

Retirement is revealing a side of former President Uhuru Kenyatta that probably would not have featured in the wildest imaginations of Kenyans — that he is a basketball fan.

With plenty of time to travel and see the world, the former President was spotted at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, mingling with fans after the Boston Celtics humiliating 101-111 loss to the Miami Heat.

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In a photo that has surfaced online, the former president was pictured wearing a green baseball cap and a black jacket as he greeted fans in a black baseball cap and a gold Boston Celtics jumper.

From their standing position, it was clear that he was watching the match from courtside, a prime seating area where a ticket could have cost him between US$ 2000 and US$ 4,000.

Former President Kenyatta must have developed a liking for the Boston Celtics when he was a student at Amherst College in Massachusetts in the 1980s. Kenyatta graduated from the college in 1985 with a degree in economics and politics, and during that decade, the Celtics and legendary NBA player Larry Bird appeared in four consecutive finals between 1984 and 1987.

Immediate former Commander in chief Uhuru Kenyatta is enjoying Basketball .2024 NBA playoffs. pic.twitter.com/BOtQLkZGKG
— Chris Sambu (@the_sambu) April 25, 2024

Even though the Celtics won only one of those finals, against the Houston Rockets in 1986, they must have impressed Kenyatta enough to become their fan.

The trip to Boston, therefore, could be Kenyatta reliving his youth with hopes of seeing the Celtics win another championship.

After that 1986 triumph, the Boston Celtics had to wait 22 years before winning the Larry O'Brien trophy again.

It has now been 16 years without the Celtics adding to their 2008 success.

The Boston Celtics, currently tied with the Los Angeles Lakers with 17 titles, are the NBA's most successful team, and having gone into the playoffs with the best record (64-18) of any team, there is great hope among their fans that they will lift a record 18th championship banner to the rafters at the TD Garden.

Game 3 and Game 4 of the Celtics' play-off series, currently tied at 1-1 with the Celtics winning Game 114-94, will take place in Miami.

Whether or not Kenyatta makes it to the Kaseya Centre in Florida, the former president will be hoping that the Celtics will not disappoint him.