Speaker of Kenyan Senate Kingi in Uganda for Ateker festival
The Speaker of the Kenyan Senate Amason Kingi (L) chats with Minister for Local Government Raphael Magyezi at Entebbe International Airport on November 26, 2024. Photo/Paul Adude
The Speaker of the Kenyan Senate, Mr Amason Kingi, has arrived in Uganda ahead of the much-anticipated Ateker Festival, the first of its kind in the region.
The Minister for Local Government, Mr Raphael Magyezi, alongside the State Minister for Gender, Labour, and Social Development, Balaam Barugahara, welcomed the Speaker and his entourage at Entebbe International Airport on November 26. He noted that over 10,000 dignitaries from all Ateker dialect-speaking countries are expected to attend the three-day festival that began today in Soroti City.
"It is very big. I'm told we have more than 1,500 Kenyans already there. Last week, we hosted the Governor of Nyeri and the local government association and forum, so this is a real home," he said.
Mr Magyezi added that after the festival opening on Wednesday, Speaker Kingi would address the Legal Society on Thursday morning before holding a meeting with President Yoweri Museveni.
"The event is big, and I think it could be the first of its nature for the Ateker community, the Itesot, not just those in Uganda, but the global Itesot community. Actually, it's not Itesot only. Ateker are made of the Karamajong; we have the Koth on the side of Kenya, Turkana, the Pokoti, and the Itesot. From South Sudan, we have the Togosi, and Ethiopia, we have the Lendire and the Togosi," he said.
The Speaker of the Kenyan Senate, Mr Amason Kingi, who arrived with his wife and two senators, emphasized that the festival would unite the Ateker community in the region.
Mr. Kingi expressed hope that the festival would, in the future, be organized in different countries where the community is located.
The three-day Ateker reunion festival will host a number of dignitaries from Ateker dialect-speaking countries, including South Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Uganda.
The Ateker community is said to have originated from present-day Djibouti several years ago. This group currently spans the Nyangatom in Ethiopia, the Topotha of South Sudan, the Masai and the Turkana of Kenya, the Karimojong and Iteso of Uganda and Kenya, as well as the Masai of Tanzania.
