The Bamasaaba Cultural Institution has expressed deep concern over the escalating political tensions and hostile campaign environment in Bungoma County, Kenya. As a cross-border community united by shared heritage and consanguinity, the institution emphasized that artificial colonial borders cannot divide the Bamasaaba people.
According to the Institution, recent confrontations between the Speaker of the National Parliament of Kenya, Rt. Hon. Moses Wetang’ula Masika, and the Governor of Trans Nzoia County, H.E. George Natembeya, are creating an unfriendly environment during the ongoing campaigns to fill vacant senatorial and county positions in areas around Kabuchai, Bungoma.
A scholarly look at the Kenyan Constitution shows that no person is permitted to engage in hate speech, make propaganda for violence, or incite communities against one another. Article 33(2)(a)(b)(c) explicitly forbids such conduct.
Umukuka III, HRH Jude Mike Mudoma, together with the Bamasaaba Cultural Institution, has noted with concern the rise in inflammatory rhetoric and violent incidents linked to these by-elections. The institution warns that such behaviour threatens the unity of a community that has long lived in harmony across the borders of Uganda and Kenya.
“As one Bamasaaba community, we must maintain our composure and not allow residual elections to divide us. If minor electoral contests can cause such tension, what will happen during the general elections ahead?” the Institution observed.
Given that Bungoma is only about 50 kilometres from Mbale City, Umukuka III is assembling a team of eminent Bamasaaba elders to mediate between the Rt. Hon. Speaker and the Governor in order to ease the growing tensions. The institution notes that continued hostility undermines longstanding trade links and fraternal relations that the Bamasaaba community has enjoyed for centuries.
The Office of the Spokesperson of the Bamasaaba Cultural Institution further appeals to all accredited media platforms to give this statement the attention it deserves. The institution urges all Bamasaaba on both sides of the border to reject violence and uphold peaceful campaigns.
The Bamasaaba community stretches from the Girichi River to Bungoma and beyond, united by shared cultural practices and ancestry.
Steven Masiga
Spokesperson, Bugisu Cultural Institution
Tel: 0782231577
