The Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi is scheduled to grace the 43rd Annual Mlogooli Cultural festival to be held at Mbale Grounds on 26th December 2022.

This will be the first ceremony under the Mlogooli calendar that Mudavadi will be gracing after he was appointed by President William Ruto to the powerful position of the Prime Cabinet Secretary.

“We are happy that the President honored 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 years’ cultural festival will be significant in letting our people know that we are part and parcel of the Kenya Kwanza administration as a people.” said Prof Mike Iravo, CEC member of Vihiga County government society.

The 43rd L’logooli Cultural Festival is held under the aegis of Vihiga Cultural Society. 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.

“Legend has it that when population in Evulogooli overwhelmed the available land, our people “looked” and indeed migrated to Ivugwi (East) towards present day Nandi County where they occupied ‘uninhabited’ land. Later immigrants bought land from the original inhabitants,” explains Kibisu Kabatesi.

“This movement and occupation of land, akin to the Biblical Exodus, is what is known as Kuhamba Vugwi. Kuhamba loosely means get, acquire, have, and hold. Get Vugwi could mean the sojourner found land, occupied it and with time took possession of the same.

Acquire Vugwi has a ring of permanency in the occupation of the land. Have Vugwi suggests permanent settlement. Hold suggests full ownership. In short, seeking and moving into a new settlement.

“Though originally used to describe Mlogooli settlement in the “East”, it has evolved to describe the settlement of Mlogooli everywhere other than the original accessorial home and migration eastwards. The Mlogooli has large settlements at Kanyamukago in Migori County; at Kehumbu, Nyaribari Chache in Kisii county; and at Kigumba in Uganda. More recently other sizeable settlements have sprouted in Garissa, Kwale, Kilifi and Lamu counties. Historians will probably tell us when the first large-scale migration East took place,” said Kabatesi

“However, in modern political parlance, “Kuhamba Vugwi” is easily partnering with others to achieve a political end.  I am sure the successful partnership of PCS Msalia Mudavadi and President William Ruto under Kenya Kwanza colours the choice of the theme,” said Kibisu Kabatesi.

The organizers of this years’ event led by the chairperson of the L’logooli Cultural Festival Mzee Hezron Azelwa and the Organizing Secretary Mzee Joseph Magozwi Kwidiagilo say 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 gust arrives. We want this years’ 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,” said Magozwi in an interview.

“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,” said Azelwa the Chairperson.

The organizers further say that this years’ 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.

Prof Iravo who is in-charge of public works and ICT in Vihiga County says other than what people will see and learn on the material 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 Sub-Counties of Vihiga County.

“We are looking at the culture being a very impactful aspect for the youth of this country. In Vihiga we have the L’logooli, Tiriki, Terik and Banyore. We want all our youth to learn from our elders about how to relate to each other in the society. And one way to go about this is to make sure that they embrace technology since it is an easier way of connecting ith young people,” said Prof Iravo.

“We shall be showcasing many artifacts, from the traditional gargets of war like “Lihalu” (sword), utensils like the half-guard, among many other artifacts. We want the youth to learn how these items were useful to the society and develop knowledge and skill through this digital era though which they can utilize to innovate prototype implements suitable for the modern day and earn a living from it,” said Magozwi.

The leadership of the county and other national leaders are expected to attend the festival this coming Monday. The organizers have expressed their gratitude to all invitees who have pledged to attend.

“We want them to come with a message of peace to the people. This has already been demonstrated by our son, the Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi who is now working with President Ruto. This shows Kenyans must collaborate and work together irrespective of their ancestral origin. That’s why our theme (Kubamba Vugwi) is very key this year having just come from an election and a transition period,” Said Magozwi.

The organizers have welcomed all Kenyans from all walks to this years’ Mulogooli festival where the L’logooli culture will be showcased on 26th December 2022 and thereafter on 27th there will be the Banyore community having their day followed by Tiriki on 28th and Terik on 29th.