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Matiang’i declares Friday public holiday to celebrate Idd-ul-Adha


Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i has declared Friday a public holiday to celebrate Idd-ul-Adha.

Idd-ul-Adha is an Islamic festival to commemorate the willingness of Abraham to follow Allah’s command to sacrifice his son and takes place on the 10th day of the third month after Ramadhan.

PUBLIC HOLIDAY

“It is notified for the general information of the public that in exercise of the powers conferred by section 2 (2), as read with section 3 of the Public Holidays Act, the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and Co-ordination of National Government declares that Friday, the 31st July, 2020, shall be a public holiday,” Matiang’i said in a Kenya Gazette notice dated July 29, 2020.

However, Matiang’i said celebrations will be marked with minimal person-to-person contact and in strict compliance with the government’s guidelines on Covid-19.

STRICT GUIDELINES

“In light of the ongoing Covid-19 situation and in fidelity with the Resolutions of the Fifth Session of the National and County Governments Coordinating Summit, all ceremonies in celebration of Idd-ul-Adha will be marked with minimal person-to-person contact, and in strict and full compliance with the guidelines issued by the Inter Faith Council with the approval of the Ministry of Health,” Matiang’i said.

Idd-ul-Adha marks the end of Hajj, the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca.

Muslims normally go on pilgrimage to Mecca to re-enact the sacrifice and take part in ceremonies held in the very places where the events are thought to have transpired.

It is one of the two Idd celebrations, Idd-ul-Adha and Idd-ul-Fitr, and is often considered the holier of the two.