Kenya: Lake Turkana Cultural Festival gets county sponsorship

This year's edition will be held under the theme, Celebrating Cultural Heritage for Tourism, Peace and Regional Development. It is organised by the Marsabit county government in partnership with the Kenya Tourism Board, the Kenya Wildlife Service and National Museums of Kenya.

The three-day event recognises the social and economic benefits of culture among the 14 communities in Kenya's northwest, such as El Molo, Rendille, Samburu, Turkana, Dassanatch, Gabra, Borana, Konso, Sakuye, Garre, Waata, Burji and Somali, among others.

Apart from dance and music, the programme will also feature a fashion show with traditional costumes as well as arts and crafts. There will also be races, which include half-, 10km and 15km marathons, and a 3km run for children.

Turkana County executive committee member in charge of tourism Jennifer Nawoi Longor said the 2019 edition of the festival was expected to attract about 12 000 delegates from communities in Kenya, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Uganda. 

“The festival has now moved on to becoming a regional festival,” she said. “We are one of the biggest cultural festivals in the eastern and central parts of Africa. All the communities that we showcase have similar cultural practices and this is because we believe that we once lived in one place."

The decision to sponsor the festival comes as a surprise, as Turkana County is widely known as region where funding in the arts is practically non-existent. Last year, Marsabit County governor Mohamud Ali said the Lake Turkana Cultural Festival had been instrumental in promoting and maintaining peace among the various communities, who had previously engaged in tribal clashes.

“Through this festival, we seek just not to recognise and appreciate our county’s biocultural diversity but to understand the values in the diversity of the human race,” he said.