Pomp and colour at 2021 Turkana cultural festival
It was pomp and colour during the three-day Turkana annual Tourism and Cultural Festival, Tobong’u Lore, at Ekaales Centre in Lodwar.
Tobong’u Lore, which means “welcome home”, has been taking place yearly since 2014, except in 2017 and 2021, when it was disrupted by the General Election, and the Covid-19 outbreak.
The celebration usually brings together Ateker communities, Dassenach and Nyangatom of Ethiopia, Toposa of South Sudan, Karamoja of Uganda and Turkana and Iteso of Kenya, who speak one dialect
This year’s event was marked by peace songs and cultural exhibitions. The exhibition tents displayed the Turkana homestead, complete with a manyatta and cattle.
At the closing of the festival on Saturday, Deputy President William Ruto underscored the essence of peace among the communities living in areas perceived as volatile.
“We’re not only celebrating the culture of Ateker communities... but this event has also become a diplomatic event that brings nations together,” he said.
“It’s equally a business and commercial event that brings entrepreneurs together. It’s also a tourism event that brings people together to celebrate the cradle of [humankind],” the DP added.
Noting that for years, diplomacy at headquarters level had been unable to bring leaders from Uganda, South Sudan and Ethiopia together, Mr Ruto said that Tobong’u Lore had managed to do just that.
It had brought leaders and communities from across the borders to one meeting to discuss issues that affect them, the DP said.
Leaders from Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan and Ethiopia praised Turkana Governor Josphat Nanok for facilitating peace among warring communities in the region through the ceremony.
Defence Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa, who opened the festival on Thursday, said that since it was first held in 2014, the festival has been an avenue for warring pastoral communities to discuss homegrown solutions to stopping cross-border conflicts over pasture and water especially during the dry seasons.
The CS recalled that, he first attended Tobong’u Lore in 2016 when he was the Water Cabinet Secretary together with Uganda’s Minister of Karamoja Affairs, Mr John Byabagambi.
He said that, the Karamojong and Tepeth of Uganda, the Toposa of South Sudan, and the Dassenach met to celebrate their common culture.
Later that night, Mr Wamalwa said, they held a diplomatic meeting over the border of Kenya and Uganda, where they discussed how Turkana pastoralists can stay in harmony with neighbouring pastoral communities in Uganda and South Sudan. BY DAILY NATION
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