Preparations for the 8th Karamoja Cultural Event in High Gear

24 August 2023, 11:50 am

By Joshua Imalingat

It is barely two weeks to one of the highly anticipated cultural events on the calendar for the Karimojong community.

The Karamoja Cultural event organized by Karamoja Cultural Association on a rotational basis with the respective districts is due in Napak this year starting on September 4^th-9th,2023.

Already, the organizers of the Napak edition are in high spirits and predict that this year’s celebrations will be the best ever organized in Karamoja. Several meetings continue to be held at various levels to ensure that the event matches the huge expectations.

The organizers say that over ten thousand people from the different parts of Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan and Ethiopia are expected to turn up for the event whose theme is: PRESERVING OUR CULTURAL IDENTITY AND DIVERSITY FOR DIGNIFIED AND RESILIENT FUTURE.

The preparation has attracted a high level of interest and participation from several organizations and individuals ranging from the local community members of Napak, elders, civil society organizations as well as the Napak district staff.

Lochap Alfred Lowot, the deputy Chief Administrative Officer of Napak who also doubles as the chairperson for this year’s cultural event says the planned activities for the event will include the Ateker peace caravan that will come all the way from Ethiopia as a means of fostering peace, development and preserving cultural sites.

Paul Kodet, the LC5 chairperson of Napak told our Etoil A Karamoja news reporters who visited the district to compile this report that the preparations begun in March this year, adding that they require about 250 million shillings to successfully host the event.

Mr. Kodet says the Napak district council has contributed 10 million shillings towards the event while the 14 lower administrative units in the district have each been tasked to contribute 200,000 shillings. The elders in the district have also reportedly contributed 24 bulls towards the event.

According to Kodet, the celebrations will be marked with several activities including dialogues on themes such as street children, youth, culture and peace as well as other activities including a tour to the key cultural sites and camp fires.

Dr. Mark Ilukol an elder in Kangole, says the event is meant to prevent the social system of Karamoja from breaking down arguing that the region needs a culture that is self-supportive.

Napak district currently has a population of 168,000 people spread across the 14 local government administrative units covering 4,978 square kilometers of land.

Remember this is part of the series of stories Etoil A Karamoja will be broadcasting starting today in support of the forthcoming Karamoja cultural event in Napak district.