- The theme for this year is “Kuhamba Uvugwi” loosely translated to mean how to seek and move to live with strangers in other societies once you migrate from your ancestral land.
- The Festivals advisor, Kibisu Kabatesi said the interpretation of the theme can as varied as the context and circumstances determine.
Image: Musalia Mudavadi/ Twitter
Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi is scheduled to grace the 43rd Annual Mlogooli Cultural festival to be held at Mbale Grounds on December, 26.
This will be the first ceremony under the Mlogooli calendar that Mudavadi will be attending since his appointment by President William Ruto to the position.
"We are happy that the President honoured his campaign promise to the people of Western Kenya by having our leader Musalia Mudavadi as the Prime Cabinet Secretary.
"We are optimistic that his presence at this year's cultural festival will be significant in letting our people know that we are part and parcel of Kenya Kwanza administration,” CEC member of Vihiga county government society Mike Iravo said.
The 43rd L’logooli Cultural Festival is held under the patronage of Vihiga Cultural Society.
The theme for this year is “Kuhamba Uvugwi” loosely translates to "how to seek and move to live with strangers in other societies once you migrate from your ancestral land."
The festival's advisor, Kibisu Kabatesi, said the interpretation of the theme can be as varied as the context and circumstances determine.
"Legend has it that when population in Evulogooli overwhelmed the available land, our people migrated to Ivugwi East towards present day Nandi county where they occupied ‘uninhabited’ land. Later, immigrants bought land from the original inhabitants,” Kibisu Kabatesi explained.
"This movement and occupation of land, akin to the Biblical Exodus, is what is known as Kuhamba Vugwi," he said.
Kuhamba loosely means get, acquire, have, or hold. Get Vugwi could mean the sojourner found land, occupied it and with time took possession of the same.
The organisers of this year's event led by the chairperson of the L’logooli Cultural Festival Mzee Hezron Azelwa and the organising secretary Mzee Joseph Magozwi Kwidiagilo said everything is set for the day and the final preparations are on top gear.
"Those who will purpose to attend will have a chance to taste our traditional food and traditional medicine before our chief guest arrives. We want this year's festival to be of its kind.
"Come in large numbers and listen to the teachings from our elders. We want this festival to be orderly since many Kenyans will be keenly following it online and also on our radios and televisions," Magozwi said.
The organizers further said that this year's festival will be an eye opener for the youth as they will also be making strides to ensure that the Mulogooli culture is digitally documented through film, video and in the social media, saying that embracing the digital space is the way to go.
"Kenyans will be coming to witness the Mulogooli culture in this festival that began in 1979. It signifies how far we have travelled as a community within the larger Kenyan society. We shall be showcasing many things related to our culture with a set of teachings from birth through livelihood to death,” chairperson Azelwa said.
Prof Iravo who is in-charge of public works and ICT in Vihiga county said other than what people will see and learn on the day, the county government is working on programmes that will be well documented online and in museums set to be established in each of the five subcounties of Vihiga county.