Students performing at the 98th Music festivals in Bungoma
Bungoma County was on Tuesday 11th, August transformed into the beating heart of Kenya’s cultural life as it hosted the Winners’ Concert of the 98th Kenya National Music Festival, with Governor Kenneth Makelo Lusaka declaring that the county was not merely hosting an event, but “celebrating Kenya” itself.Addressing hundreds of student performers, teachers, parents and dignitaries at Kibabii University, the Governor said the festival was a showcase of the nation’s brightest young talent, drawn from schools across the country to compete in music, dance and drama.
Governor Kenneth Makelo Lusaka addressing hundreds of student performers, teachers, parents and dignitaries at Kibabii University
Represented at the event was Dr. Beatrice Inyangala, Principal Secretary in the State Department for Higher Education and Research, who attended on behalf of the Cabinet Secretary for Education. Also present were officials of the Kenya National Music Festival Secretariat, adjudicators, trainers and school heads whose students had qualified for the national finals.In his remarks, Governor Lusaka thanked the Ministry of Education for selecting Bungoma to host the prestigious national event, describing the choice as a recognition of the county’s deep-rooted musical heritage.
He invoked the legacy of Western Kenya’s celebrated artists, among them the late benga musicians George Mukabi and Daudi Kabaka, saying young performers stood in a long line of storytellers and musicians who had carried Kenyan culture across generations.”Perhaps among these champions are the next great musicians, actors, composers and storytellers,” the Governor said, adding that the region’s youth were the custodians of that heritage moving forward.
The Governor used the occasion to underscore music’s power to bridge Kenya’s ethnic and regional divides, noting that performers from vastly different backgrounds from Bungoma to Mombasa, Turkana to Kisii had shared the same stage in pursuit of a common dream.He described this diversity as a strength rather than a source of division, urging the nation to build on the unity displayed by the young competitors.
Dr. Beatrice Inyangala,Governor Lusaka and other stakeholders of education during the 98th Music festival
Turning to the young performers directly, Governor Lusaka cautioned them against treating their trophies as a final achievement, urging them instead to see the awards as a starting point for bigger ambitions.He encouraged the students to nurture and discipline their talent, and to dream beyond the boundaries of Bungoma and Kenya, with the hope that some among them would one day perform on the world’s biggest stages.The Governor also paid tribute to the residents of Bungoma for their hospitality in welcoming participants, adjudicators and guests from across the country, expressing hope that visitors would leave the county as friends and return in future.
He closed his address with a rallying call for the festival’s spirit to endure beyond the day’s celebrations, declaring that while the event would come to an end, “the music of our children will never stop.”The Governor extended his congratulations to all participants, teachers, parents and trainers who contributed to the success of this year’s festival, and called for continued investment in nurturing talent among Kenya’s youth