The government has denied rumors that it has gazetted a notice declaring Monday, 28 October, 2019 as a public holiday to mark Diwali.
In a notice from the Ministry of Interior, the government has termed the notice as fake and asked Kenyans to take the said Monday as “normal working day.”
“Kindly ignore a gazette notice circulating on social media claiming Monday 28th October 2019 to be a public holiday. Monday 28th remains a normal working day,” read a statement posted on social media by the Ministry of Interior.
Kenyans on social media had come out asking the Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i top declare Monday a public holiday.
This was to mark Diwali, a major religious festival among the Hindus, Sikhs and Jains.
Diwali is a festival in Hinduism which is celebrated for five days. Usually, it occurs in the late Octobers and early November.
Diwali is celebrated to to welcome the new moon night. Hindus, Sikhs and Jains believe this is the goddess of wealth.
This is not the first time Kenyans have come up with fake public holidays notices on social media.
Not long ago, they also declared a public holiday to mark the INEOS 159 Challenge after world marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge ran a 42 kilometer marathon in Vienna, Austria in the less than two hours.
However, the government thrashed the notice terming it fake and asked residents to observe the day as a normal working day.