BONIFACE MWANGI DECLARES JUNE 25 A HOLIDAY

Human rights activist Boniface Mwangi has reaffirmed his call to mark June 25, 2025, as Gen Z Mashujaa Day, urging Kenyans to stay home, skip work or school, and honour youth who died during the 2024 anti-Finance Bill protests.

In a Facebook post published today, Mwangi declared, “Why June 25th is a national holiday! Plan yourselves accordingly. If you can't take part in the remembrance, take the day off. Ask your bosses to plan accordingly because we are shutting down Kenya for a day for our Gen Z heroes.” He used the hashtag #Justice4OurMashujaa to emphasize the demand for justice.

Mwangi made the initial declaration on June 13 during protests in Nairobi over the death of Albert Ojwang, a teacher and blogger who died last Sunday while in police custody at Central Police Station.

Ojwang was arrested at his father’s home in Homa Bay County after Deputy Inspector General Eliud Lagat filed a complaint, accusing him of defamation and publishing false information on X (formerly Twitter).

He called on Kenyans to carry flags, flowers, and placards, march to Parliament, lay flowers, and submit a petition calling for justice and compensation for victims.

Opposition leaders Rigathi Gachagua and Kalonzo Musyoka had also called on Kenyans to observe the day as a symbolic public holiday, saying it should be remembered as Gen Z Liberation Day.

However, both Mwangi and the opposition leaders have no legal authority to declare national holidays. That mandate rests solely with the Cabinet Secretary for Interior, currently Kipchumba Murkomen.