diff --git a/ansible/roles/kolla-ansible/defaults/main.yml b/ansible/roles/kolla-ansible/defaults/main.yml
index 02cd4df75..340060844 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/kolla-ansible/defaults/main.yml
+++ b/ansible/roles/kolla-ansible/defaults/main.yml
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ kolla_ansible_source_version:
 kolla_ansible_venv: "{{ ansible_facts.env['PWD'] }}/kolla-venv"
 
 # Python interpreter to use to create Kolla Ansible virtualenv.
-kolla_ansible_venv_python: /usr/bin/python3
+kolla_ansible_venv_python: "{{ '/usr/bin/python3.12' if ansible_facts.os_family == 'RedHat' else '/usr/bin/python3' }}"
 
 # Extra requirements to install inside the kolla-ansible virtualenv.
 kolla_ansible_venv_extra_requirements: []
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ kolla_ansible_venv_extra_requirements: []
 # tested code. Changes to this limit should be tested. It is possible to only
 # install ansible-core by setting kolla_ansible_venv_ansible to None.
 kolla_ansible_venv_ansible:
-kolla_ansible_venv_ansible_core: 'ansible-core>=2.15,<2.17'
+kolla_ansible_venv_ansible_core: 'ansible-core>=2.16,<2.18'
 
 # Path to a requirements.yml file for Ansible collections.
 kolla_ansible_requirements_yml: "{{ kolla_ansible_venv }}/share/kolla-ansible/requirements.yml"
diff --git a/ansible/roles/kolla-ansible/tasks/install.yml b/ansible/roles/kolla-ansible/tasks/install.yml
index c1fdf1362..e227612ae 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/kolla-ansible/tasks/install.yml
+++ b/ansible/roles/kolla-ansible/tasks/install.yml
@@ -36,6 +36,15 @@
     version: "{{ kolla_ansible_source_version }}"
   when: kolla_ansible_ctl_install_type == 'source'
 
+- name: Remove virtualenv if python version is stale
+  file:
+    path: "{{ kolla_ansible_venv }}"
+    state: absent
+  become: True
+  when:
+    - kolla_ansible_venv is not none
+    - (kolla_ansible_venv ~ '/bin/python') | realpath != kolla_ansible_venv_python | realpath
+
 - name: Ensure virtualenv parent directory exists
   file:
     path: "{{ kolla_ansible_venv | dirname }}"
@@ -97,7 +106,6 @@
         {% endif %}
       - "{{ kolla_ansible_venv_ansible_core }}"
       - "{{ kolla_ansible_venv_ansible }}"
-      - selinux
   pip:
     name: "{{ (kolla_ansible_packages + kolla_ansible_venv_extra_requirements) | select | list }}"
     state: latest
diff --git a/ansible/roles/kolla-ansible/vars/RedHat.yml b/ansible/roles/kolla-ansible/vars/RedHat.yml
index cddc7b347..04f9a8455 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/kolla-ansible/vars/RedHat.yml
+++ b/ansible/roles/kolla-ansible/vars/RedHat.yml
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ kolla_ansible_package_dependencies:
   - git
   - libffi-devel
   - openssl-devel
-  - python3-devel
-  - python3-pip
+  - python3.12
+  - python3.12-devel
+  - python3.12-pyyaml
   - rsync
diff --git a/releasenotes/notes/kolla-ansible-2.16-1.17-242ccf40a08100d0.yaml b/releasenotes/notes/kolla-ansible-2.16-1.17-242ccf40a08100d0.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..31fdf7f51
--- /dev/null
+++ b/releasenotes/notes/kolla-ansible-2.16-1.17-242ccf40a08100d0.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+upgrade:
+  - |
+    Updates the minimum supported version of Ansible from 2.15 to 2.16, and the
+    maximum supported version from 2.17 to 2.18 in the Kolla Ansible virtualenv.
+    The Python version used to install Kolla Ansible on Rocky 9 is bumped to 3.12.