Our Reporter | Bungoma, Kenya — The Umukuka wa Bugisu, His Highness Jude Mike Mudoma, has extended his cultural and educational outreach programme to Kenya, targeting schools in Bamasaba communities across the border as part of efforts to promote culture, morality, and education among learners.
Speaking in Bungoma, the spokesperson of the Bugisu Cultural Institution, Steven Masiga, said the school tours he has been conducting on behalf of the Umukuka will now be rolled out in Kenyan schools located in areas with significant Bamasaba populations, including Trans Nzoia, Bungoma, and Kakamega counties.
Masiga explained that the cultural institution’s engagement with communities in Kenya is supported by existing legal and regional frameworks that allow cultural leaders and their officials to interact with their people across borders.
“There is a reasonable legal framework that enables His Highness the Umukuka and officials of the Bugisu Cultural Institution to cross into Kenya and mobilize our subjects in communities under his cultural leadership,” Masiga said.
He cited provisions of the East African Community Treaty, including Article 104, which promotes the free movement of persons within member states, and Article 119(c), which encourages the promotion and preservation of culture across borders.
According to Masiga, Kenya is unique within the East African Community because the Bamasaba community exists as one tribe on both sides of the Uganda-Kenya border.
As part of the school outreach programme, the cultural institution will deliver messages aimed at strengthening moral values and encouraging learners to focus on education. The campaign will also address harmful cultural practices such as female genital mutilation (FGM) and encourage young people to uphold positive cultural values.
“We shall take the same message to Kenyan schools that we have been delivering in Uganda. We shall speak against factors that undermine learning, preach against female genital mutilation, and encourage learners to embrace the positive aspects of our culture,” Masiga said.
He added that learners will also be sensitized about the Imbalu circumcision calendar established by the Umukuka, which serves both Ugandan and Kenyan Bamasaba communities.
The delegation will further convey greetings and goodwill messages from the Umukuka to Bamasaba communities living across River Lwakhakha.
Masiga emphasized that the Bugisu Cultural Institution remains non-partisan and will not engage in political matters during the school tours.
“As a cultural institution, we do not discuss politics or tell learners whom to vote for. Our focus is strictly on culture, morality, and community development,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Umukuka has invited Kenyan President William Ruto and several county governors to attend the forthcoming Imbalu launch scheduled for 1st August.
Among the invited dignitaries are Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya, Bungoma Governor Kenneth Lusaka, and the Speaker of Kenya’s National Assembly, Moses Wetang’ula.
Masiga said the upcoming school tours will also be used to mobilize communities and raise awareness about the Imbalu launch, which is expected to attract participants from both Uganda and Kenya.
The Bugisu Cultural Institution views the initiative as an opportunity to strengthen cultural ties among the Bamasaba people across borders while promoting education, moral values, and cultural heritage among the younger generation.
