No, today is not a public holiday in Kenya

How to tell if today is a public holiday in Kenya

Kenya's public holidays are listed in the Public Holidays Act Cap 110 Laws of Kenya, supplemented by Presidential proclamation under section 2 for moveable Islamic and one-off observances. The standing list runs to about twelve days: New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Labour Day on 1 May, Madaraka Day on 1 June commemorating the 1963 attainment of internal self-rule, Huduma Day on 10 October (replacing the former Moi Day), Mashujaa Day on 20 October honouring those who fought for independence, Jamhuri Day on 12 December marking the 1963 declaration of the republic, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, plus Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha by sighting of the moon. Election day is gazetted each cycle as a one-off public holiday.

That structure is why a simple "is it a holiday today" answer for Kenya is more nuanced than a single yes or no. A date can be a public holiday at the national level, a regional one observed only in certain states or provinces, or a banking holiday that closes financial settlement without closing every employer. The status shown above reflects the nationally recognised public holiday list for Kenya; if you are in a specific region, check the full calendar for the local additions that do not appear on the national list.

Working days and the holiday calendar in Kenya

The Employment Act 2007 section 27 sets the standard working week at 52 hours over six days for general workers and 60 hours for night work. The standard private-sector office and banking week is Monday to Friday at 8 or 9 hours per day, with retail and informal sectors operating Monday to Saturday. Sunday is the statutory weekly rest day. The Interpretation and General Provisions Act section 57 rolls statutory deadlines falling on a Sunday or public holiday to the next working day. Settlement of shilling transactions runs on the Central Bank of Kenya's KEPSS RTGS system, which observes the gazetted twelve-day holiday list.

Right now there are about 25 full working days between today and Jamhuri Day, counting Monday to Friday and skipping any other public holidays in between. If you are scheduling a deliverable, a delivery, or a meeting that depends on people being at their desks in Kenya, that is the realistic window you have before the next closure.

For cross-border planning, overlay the Kenya calendar with the calendars of the other countries your team works with. A week that looks completely open from your side can be a national holiday on theirs, and the clash only shows up when you compare the two side by side. The full holiday page links into a country-by-country comparison so you can spot the weeks where almost nobody is at their desk before you commit to a date.

Holiday dates are compiled from Nager.Date and the national sources listed above. Regional and substitute-day rules vary; for legal deadlines, confirm the observed date with the relevant official calendar for Kenya.