Ruto explains why Katiba Day is not a public holiday

President William Ruto has explained why Katiba Day, marked on August 27 to commemorate the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution, was not gazetted as a national holiday despite this year’s celebrations marking 15 years since its adoption.

Speaking at the Katiba at 15 celebrations held at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi on Wednesday, Ruto said his decision was guided by the principles of the Constitution itself and the debates that shaped its making.

“As I reflected on our journey towards the new Constitution, I was reminded in my conscience that when we got the new Constitution, we seemed to have said that we are done with matters Constitution. That is why I decided that maybe it is time, 15 years down the road, but it is never too late to do the right thing. That is why I signed a proclamation for us to celebrate this day, the day that we promulgated the new Constitution as Katiba Day,” he said.

The president noted that one of the issues raised during the Constitution-making process was the large number of public holidays, which prompted an effort to consolidate them in the 2010 Constitution.

“As I reflected on how this should be done, I was informed by the journey. What we discussed during the Constitution-making process is that we had too many holidays, which was one of the problems that we had, and that is why there was an attempt by the new Constitution to consolidate national holidays since there were too many,” Ruto said.

He explained that this was why Katiba Day was not declared a work-free public holiday. Instead, Kenyans were expected to work in the morning before joining the celebrations in the afternoon.

“In the spirit of this Constitution, I also thought that with the new Constitution, we should not make this a national holiday where there is no work, and partly why I thought we should have this occasion in the afternoon so that people can work in the morning,” he said. “…But maybe we can redefine that as we go forward.”

Despite this, Ruto left the door open for future review, saying that the country could later decide if Katiba Day should be designated a public holiday.

On Monday, he formally announced that August 27 will be observed annually as Katiba Day to serve as a reminder of Kenya’s collective responsibility to “obey, preserve, protect, and implement” the Constitution.