Handshake: Man wants day declared public holiday
What you need to know:
- The petition has been committed before the Committee of Justice and Legal Affairs which is expected to look and report to the House after not more than 60 days according to the House rules.
Parliament has received a petition seeking to make March 9, the day President Uhuru Kenyatta and Orange Democratic Movement leader Raila Odinga shook hands on the steps of Harambee House, a national peace day.
The petitioner, Mr Paul Mugo, wants the National Assembly through relevant departmental committees to amend Article 9(3) of the Constitution to include the date as a national holiday to be observed on March 9.
Mr Mugo argues that for decades, peace in Kenya had been elusive hence the handshake has provided a gateway to greater cohesion, peaceful co-existence, tranquillity and a sense of nationhood.
"Of great importance is the concerted effort by both government and the opposition towards achievement of the big four agenda and realisation of the desired socio-economic and political development in the country," reads the petition.
The petition has been committed before the Committee of Justice and Legal Affairs which is expected to look and report to the House after not more than 60 days according to the House rules.
President Kenyatta and Mr Odinga through the handshake agreed in a nine-point agenda to end unnecessary political animosity that threated to derail development in the country.
In the nine-point agenda the two leaders signed and sealed with a famous handshake, Mr Odinga and President Kenyatta vowed to end corruption and divisive elections, strengthen devolution, and address ethnic antagonism, lack of national ethos, inclusivity, and safety and security of Kenyans for a shared prosperity.
