Moi Day as a public holiday is a relic of the one party dictatorships fostered by the late President Jomo Kenyatta and his successor President Daniel Arap Moi. The Constitution of Kenya 2010 set in article 9(3) the National Days to be Madaraka Day, Mashujaa Day and Jamhuri Day. Indeed, Kenyatta day that was celebrated on 20th October of every year was renamed Mashujaa Day and thereby erasing the misnomer where the day to honour the heroes of Kenya had been named after one person, the founding President of the Republic the late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta.
So how come nine years since the new Constitution was promulgated-putting aside the court’s intervention on the matter-should we continue with this relic of Moi Day as a public holiday yet it’s a glorification of the former President Moi who presided over a one party dictatorship that subjected significant sections of this nation to extreme oppression, tortures, and the like?
It is the parliament, the National Assembly and the Senate that are squarely accountable for the continued presence of this marked day, so it is up to the Assembly to ensure it’s once again scrapped. Are the Members of the National Assembly since 2010 and the Senate since 2013 still holding on as Moi loyalists or what other explanation can account for their inability to act on this?
Kenya is a country grappling with many other negative factors like poverty and everyday should be well utilized. We must as a country take seriously how we interpret productivity in the economy that will grow our nations aspirations for self sufficiency, coupled with the fact that public holidays shouldn’t be quickly set up.