Fact Check: There is no holiday called Huduma Day in Kenya, so Happy Utamaduni Day

On Friday, the Interior Ministry reminded Kenyans that Monday, October 10, was a public holiday to commemorate Utamaduni Day, the country's annual celebration of cultural diversity and heritage.

"All citizens are reminded to honour the day by recognising and celebrating the rich cultural diversity of Kenya in a manner that promotes our unity, national cohesion and economic progress," the gazette notice from the Interior Ministry reads. 

On Monday, however, thousands of Kenyans and leaders took to social media to wish friends, foes, fans, and followers a happy 'Huduma Day'. 

Kenya's First Lady Rachel Ruto was among those who referred to the October 10 holiday as Huduma Day, a day dedicated to service delivery.

"Together, we are building a better place for our posterity. Every Hussle Counts! Happy Service Delivery Day! Happy Huduma Day!," the First Lady Tweeted on Monday. 

Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya also took to Twitter on Monday to wish everyone a happy Huduma Day.

On the flip side, Speaker of the National Assembly, Speaker of the Senate, Ministry of Interior, Museums of Kenya and IEBC referred to it as Utamaduni Day.

According to the Public Holidays Act, there is no holiday called Huduma Day in Kenya.

The confusion over whether it is Huduma or Utamaduni Day stems from a Cabinet decision in December 2019 to rename Moi Day to Huduma Day and Boxing Day to Utamaduni Day but that was never gazetted.

This was in keeping with former President Daniel Arap Moi's desire for the day to be recognized as a day of service and volunteerism.

Cabinet approved the renaming of Boxing Day, which falls on December 26, to Utamaduni Day as part of the proposals to amend the Public Holidays Act (Cap 109).

However, because internationally recognized holidays cannot be renamed, Boxing Day remained as is, while Moi Day was  renamed Utamaduni Day, and is to be celebrated on October 10.

The revision made in a 2020 gazette notice declared October 10 as Utamaduni Day and December 26 remained as Boxing Day. 

This will be Kenya's second Utamaduni Day celebrations.