Jamhuri Day (Republic Day)
My fellow Kenyans, Jamhuri Day is a public holiday celebrated each year on 12 December since 1964.
What a majority of the people may remember are the speeches, (which they may not tell you what was said in them), parades, feasts, traditional singing and dancing, ceremonial raisings of the Kenyan flag, and many other activities that occur on Jamhuri day.
And yet for others, it is a day off work when they can sleep longer, or visit with family and friends.
On the day we celebrated our 57th Jamhuri day, I sampled a few people randomly and I was surprised to note that not many people actually can differentiate between Jamhuri day and Madaraka day.
Do we ever pause to reflect and ask ourselves why the celebration and what the day means to us as citizens of the Republic of Kenya?
Jamhuri is a Swahili word for “republic” and the holiday is meant to officially mark the date when Kenya became a republic on 12 December 1964.
Kenya became a republic after gaining full self-governance from the United Kingdom, after gaining Internal Self-rule (Madaraka) on 1 June 1963 and Independence (Uhuru) on 12 December 1963.
During the period between 12 December 1963 and 12 December 1964, Kenya was an Independent country but a “Dominion” within the British Monarchy, hence the country had a Kenyan as Prime Minister and head of government, the Late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, but the Queen of United Kingdom remained Head of state of Kenya.
During the Jamhuri event of 1964, Jomo Kenyatta assumed Presidency of the Republic of Kenya, and the Queen Elizabeth II of United Kingdom ceased to be Head of State of Kenya. Sir Everlyn Barring also ceased his role as Governor-General and representative of the British Monarch in Kenya.
What did it mean for Kenya to become a republic?
A republic [ ri-puhb-lik ] (Latin: res publica, meaning “public affair”) is a form of government in which the country is considered a “public matter”, not the private concern or property of the rulers. It is a state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them.
Fellow Kenyans, I submit to us that the REPUBLIC OF KENYA presents us with several important elements for us to reflect on Jamhuri day and after.
OUR IDENTITY
The Republic of Kenya is a convergence of many ethnic, cultural and religious diverse groups. The first five words in the preamble of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 has captured our identity in this diverse republic in the following words: We, the people of Kenya.
Our supreme law identifies the citizens of the republic first as the people of Kenya and secondly who are proud of their ethnic, cultural and religious diversity. In as much as we are diverse in many ways, yet we are united as the people of Kenya.
One important question that we as the citizens of the republic ought to ask ourselves on Jamhuri day is whether we identify ourselves as Kenyans, proud of our ethnicity, cultural or religious affiliation or is your identity and loyalty pegged to your ethnicity first?
OWNERSHIP
A while back, one of the national television stations had a program with the name ‘Who owns Kenya.’ The program focused on major companies and their ownership structures. But who owns Kenya?
A common theme in both the preamble of our Constitution of Kenya, 2010 and the Kenyan National Anthem is that of identity and ownership.
The word ‘Our’ appears five (5) times in the Kenyan National Anthem and six (6) times in the preamble of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010. ‘Our’ is an adjective indicating belonging.
Fellow Kenyans, we need to remind ourselves that we own Kenya, it belongs to us and as owners, we determine its destiny, acknowledging the supremacy of the Almighty God of all creation. And it’s on this basis that we adopted, enacted and gave the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 to ourselves and to our future generations.
As a republic, we should not allow anyone or group to disenfranchise us and take away our right to ownership of the republic. As the words of the National anthem states, firm may we stand to defend what is rightfully ours.
RESPONSIBILITY
Ownership comes with responsibility. The words of our national anthem highlight our responsibility for service to be our earnest endeavour. In equal measure, we are responsible to firmly stand to defend the republic and for building our nation together.
Fellow Kenyans, we need to call out those among us who are not exercising their responsibility and especially those who have been entrusted with the public office to do so. Service is not a privilege but a right that we owe to each other and we should rightly demand it.
A decade ago, we exercised our sovereign and inalienable right to determine the form of governance of our country and participated fully in the making of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 which we adopted, enacted and gave this to ourselves and to our future generations. We owe it to ourselves and future generations to exercise the right and responsibility for its defence.
UNITY
Leaders come and go but the Republic of Kenya lives on close to six decades after. The unity of Kenya is not a preserve of the political leaders of the day.
The words ‘May we dwell in unity, peace and liberty’ in our national anthem has placed the responsibility for a United Kenya on every citizen.
The preamble of the constitution of Kenya, 2010 states that we are not only PROUD of our ethnic, cultural and religious diversity, but are determined to live in peace and unity as one indivisible sovereign nation.
We have a responsibility to choose to live at peace with our neighbours as envisioned in the words of the national anthem and the preamble of our supreme law.
And anyone attempting to divide us one way or another is out of order and need to be labelled an enemy of the people of Kenya.
Quoting the words of Rajeev Kaushal, the word PUBLIC is hidden in the word REPUBLIC with a hidden meaning as is evident in the acronym:
P – Please
U – Unite
B – Brethren
L – Living
I – In
C – Country
Fellow Kenyans, may our words and deed unite brethren living in the country. May the enemies of this unity be defeated and have no place in the REPUBLIC OF KENYA.
God Bless Kenya!
Happy Jamhuri Day!
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