Pictures by Marvin Miles Mugerwa
The 11th edition of the Karamoja Cultural Festival took place last week at Naitakwai / Boma Grounds in Moroto District, North-Eastern Uganda.
The annual event celebrates the culture of Indigenous Ateker cluster communities from Uganda (Karimojong), Kenya (Turkana), South Sudan (Toposa), and Ethiopia (Nyangatom), and has attracted hundreds of people, including representatives from all four countries.
This year’s edition is running under the theme: “Unity in Culture, Strength in Peace, Prosperity Through Tourism and Natural Resources.”
This year’s edition was also graced by Uganda’s President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni today. Founded in 2014 by the Karamoja Cultural Association, the annual festival rotates among the nine districts of Karamoja. Moroto is hosting for the second time in its 12-year history.
The next Edition will be hosted by Kotido district.
President Yoweri Museveni joined hundreds of people from the Karamoja Sub-region to celebrate their culture and Identity at the Festival.
The president asked the people of Karamoja to preserve the good aspects of their culture, especially discipline and family values, some of the reasons, he said, have led the region to have one of the lowest HIV/AIDS prevalence levels in the country. Museveni also urged the people of Karamoja to abandon practices like nomadism that he thinks are no longer good for society.
“We must preserve our identity while embracing development and a modern way of life,” he said