Mazingira Day in Kenya Date in the current year: October 10, 2024

Mazingira Day was originally instituted as Moi Day to commemorate the rise to power of Daniel arap Moi, the second president of Kenya who first took office following the death of President Jomo Kenyatta. Kenyatta died on August 1978, and, as Vice President, Moi became acting president. A special presidential election was supposed to be held on November 8, but no one else was interested in running for presidency, so Moi was sworn in as president in October as a result of the walkover electoral process.

At first, Moi was popular both among Kenyans and in the Western world (since he openly opposed communism). In 1982, Kenyan military and police forces suppressed an attempted coup, and Moi took this as an opportunity to consolidate power and dismiss political opponents. After that, his regime started to become increasingly corrupt and dictatorial.

In the early 1990s, Moi’s popularity fell due to stagnating economy. Because of this and international pressure, he was forced to convert Kenya from a one-party to a multi-party state. However, even after the conversion, Moi’s party won two more elections, both of which were viewed as rigged by independent observers. As a result, Moi ruled the country until 2002, when he had to step down due to being constitutionally barred from running for a third term. After leaving the office, Moi lived in retirement until his death in February 2020.

The anniversary of Moi’s rise to power was celebrated as Moi Day for two decades from 1989 to 2009. In 2010, Kenya adopted a new constitution, and Moi Day was removed from the list of the country’s public holidays. However, the Supreme Court reinstated October 10 as a public holiday in 2017 because its cancellation prevented employees from receiving their benefits as outlined in the Employment Act, as well as breached the Public Holidays Act.

In 2019, Moi Day was renamed Huduma Day. The word huduma means “service” in Swahili; the new name was supposed to encourage service to others. A year later, the holiday was renamed once more, this time to Utamaduni Day (“Culture Day”) to celebrate Kenya’s heritage and cultural diversity. Utamaduni Day focused on celebrating the diverse ethnic groups populating Kenya, fostering national unity, and honoring the country’s rich cultural heritage. The celebration included national prayers and various cultural events.

Finally, in 2024 the holiday received yet another new name—Mazingira Day. The word mazingira means “environment” in Swahili; the renaming was designed to highlight that the holiday shifted its focus from culture to environmental protection and conservation. Mazingira Day is part of the efforts of the Kenyan government to speed up forest restoration and mitigate the effects of climate change. It is marked by tree planting and other environmental activities.