It is with great pride that I present and commend to you this edition of the National Celebrations Handbook on the occasion of the 2026 Mashujaa Day.
We gather to honour the men and women whose courage, sacrifice and vision secured our freedom and continue to shape the Kenya we seek to build.
This year’s celebrations are hosted and held in the North Rift, a region that prides itself in champions in athletics, stewards of agriculture and custodians of a proud cultural heritage.
The National Celebrations Handbook has, since its inception, been the anchor publication accompanying our commemoration of national days.
It offers every reader, whether in the stadium, at home or in the diaspora, a reliable overview of the day being marked, its history and meaning, and the status of projects and programmes implemented by the government. The Handbook has become a public record of how the country marks its milestones.
The Mashujaa Day 2026 celebrations continue the government’s policy of rotating hosting of national days across counties, so that every part of our Republic participates in and benefits from these occasions.
For the first time, the government entrusted three counties to jointly host the celebrations. This reflects the government’s deliberate intention to encourage collaboration and partnership, not only between the national and county governments but also among county governments themselves.
The State Department for Internal Security and National Administration coordinates preparations for national celebrations.
We bring together Ministries, Departments and Agencies as well as county governments and development partners and align their efforts to a single plan and timetable.
The National Celebrations Steering Committee, which I chair, brought together agencies in security, defence, sports, roads, energy and water, among others, and the host county governments to coordinate and implement works on various projects and initiatives in the three counties in preparation for this year’s Mashujaa Day.
Today’s celebrations are a culmination of a week-long programme that has been running in the three counties.
The government has financed construction and upgrading works on sports facilities, roads, water supply, electricity connectivity and other infrastructure in Eldoret, Kapsabet, Iten and other parts of the counties.
At the centre of the projects is the rehabilitation and upgrading of the Kipchoge Keino Stadium, where we are seated today, which seats more than 15,000 people. The works have been undertaken by the Ministry of Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports with technical support and operational supervision of the Ministry of Defence.
The stadium has been built to standards that allow it to host national and continental sporting competitions. Further works have been carried out on Kapsabet Stadium in Nandi and Kamariny Stadium in Iten, each with a capacity of over 10,000 people.
These works will strengthen the region’s reputation as a global home of sports and high-altitude training.
Investment has extended well beyond stadiums. Several roads have been improved in Eldoret, Kapsabet and Iten, easing movement for residents, traders, farmers and visitors. Water connectivity and other infrastructure are being enhanced across the three counties.
Working with the county government of Uasin Gishu and the Eldoret city management, we have improved street lighting, modernised markets, upgraded waste management and implemented a general facelift of the city.
These interventions aim to open the region economically. These projects will serve residents of the region and Kenyans at large long after the national anthem is performed at the end of today’s celebrations.
That is the true measure of a national celebration. May we honour our heroes through our conduct, our unity and our commitment to building a secure, cohesive and prosperous Kenya.
I am grateful to His Excellency the President for entrusting me with the responsibility of spearheading preparations for these celebrations and for allowing various government agencies to work with us towards staging a successful event.
I also thank the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration for his support. I am glad to have worked with dedicated public officers on the Steering Committee and benefitted from the support of the technical teams.
I send special appreciation to the editorial team of the National Celebrations Handbook for their diligence and professionalism.
To the reader, I hope this publication will serve as a valuable source of information and repository on the meaning of this day and the responsibility and actions of the government.
Excerpt from the National Celebrations Handbook, Mashujaa Day 2026, North Rift Edition
By Dr Raymond Omollo, Principal Secretary for Internal Security and National Administration & Chairman of the National Celebrations Steering Committee
