Bungoma, Kenya: The Umukuka III of Bugisu, His Highness Jude Mike Mudoma, has extended his ongoing school outreach programme to Kenya as part of efforts to promote Bamasaba culture, morality, and education among communities living across the Uganda-Kenya border.
The initiative will target schools in Bungoma, Trans Nzoia, Kakamega, and other areas inhabited by the Bamasaba community in Kenya.
Speaking to this publication, the spokesperson of the Bamasaaba Cultural Institution, Hon. Steven Masiga, said the school tours are being conducted on behalf of the Umukuka and are aimed at strengthening cultural identity and addressing social challenges affecting learners.
Masiga noted that the Bamasaaba Cultural Institution operates within an existing legal framework that allows cultural leaders and officials to engage with their subjects across East African borders.
“There is a reasonable and permissive legal framework in place that enables His Highness the Umukuka and his officials to cross into Kenya and mobilise his subjects, particularly in areas such as Trans Nzoia, Bungoma and Kakamega,” Masiga said.
“Our movement is enabled by cultural ties and the East African Community Treaty, particularly Article 104, which allows free movement, and Article 119(c), which promotes cultural cooperation across borders.”
He explained that Kenya remains the only East African country where the Bamasaaba community exists as one ethnic group spread across two nations.
According to Masiga, the cultural outreach programme will carry similar messages that have been delivered in schools across the Bugisu sub-region in eastern Uganda.
“We shall continue preaching against factors that undermine education, campaign against female genital mutilation, encourage learners to embrace positive cultural values, and remind them about the Imbalu calendar set by His Highness the Umukuka, which serves both Ugandan and Kenyan Bamasaaba communities,” he said.
The spokesperson emphasized that the cultural institution will steer clear of political matters during the engagements. “As a cultural institution, we do not speak about politics or guide learners on whom to vote. We shall restrict ourselves to issues of culture, morality and education,” Masiga added.
He said the institution will also use the tours to deliver greetings and messages from Umukuka Mudoma to Bamasaaba communities living across River Lwakhakha in Kenya.
Meanwhile, Masiga revealed that Umukuka Mudoma has invited Kenyan President William Ruto and several senior Kenyan leaders to attend the upcoming Imbalu launch scheduled for August 1, 2026.
Among the invited dignitaries are Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya, Bungoma Governor Kenneth Lusaka, and Speaker of the National Assembly Moses Wetang’ula.
“We shall use this opportunity to inform communities about the forthcoming Imbalu launch and further strengthen cultural ties between Bamasaaba communities in Uganda and Kenya,” Masiga said.
The annual Imbalu circumcision ceremony remains one of the most significant cultural events among the Bamasaaba and attracts thousands of participants and visitors from both sides of the border.
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