Ruto to decide on making Diwali a public holiday by next year

President William Ruto on Wednesday said his government will determine whether to make Diwali a public holiday by next year.

Ruto announced this at State House, Nairobi when he hosted Hindus to mark the “Festival of Lights,” as the holiday is also called.

“I will undertake to subject it to the process of government,” the President said in response to a request from Hindu leaders.

“The Speaker is here, if it has to happen, it has to go all the way to Parliament but I assure you we will have made a decision by the next Diwali.”

Diwali, also known as Deepavali, is India’s most important holiday of the year.

It symbolises the spiritual "victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance".

While the dates for the holiday vary each year as they follow the lunar calendar, it is celebrated between mid-September and mid-November.

The celebrations generally last five or six days, or even as short as one day, depending on where a person lives or how the person celebrates.

However, unlike other religious celebrations like Christmas for Christians or Eid al-Fitr for Muslims, it is not observed as a public holiday in Kenya.