The 40th Maragoli cultural festival has not been suspended, Vihiga Deputy Governor Patrick Saisi has said.
At the weekend, some MPs issued statements saying the celebration had been suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.
But Saisi, who is also the Sports, Gender and Culture executive, said the legislators are "behaving as if they operate in isolation". He said such pronouncements should be made by the county government.
“Culture is a devolved function, and we are the major planners and funders of activities across the county,” Saisi said.
He said the festival will start on December 26 as planned. He said they will hold events for the four tribes in the county on different dates – the Maragoli on December 26, Bunyore on the 27, Tiriki on the 28 and Terik on 30.
“We can decide to do it at Kidundu Stadium with only 300 people on board with all Covid-19 protocols in place," he said.
Saisi said if the event is to be cancelled, the Maragoli cultural committee should communicate officially to the county government.
“The issue of cancelling these activities at the county level has to be pronounced by the cabinet and not individuals,” Saisi said.
On Friday last week, Sabatia MP Alfred Agoi had said the celebrations cannot take place on December 26 as planned because of the pandemic.
“The ceremony is not only attended by Maragolis. Other people across the country join us, and it attracts crowds of 30,000-50,000 people at the municipal,” he said.
“So with such limits, the best way is only to suspend it.”
Agoi said they don’t want to defy state orders or expose residents to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The Maragoli culture is not killed, it’s there and will remain to be there and will be celebrated year in, year out. But with the situation at hand now, we have to put things in that order,” he said.
He said once the country returns to normalcy in 2021, the celebrations will resume.
Vihiga MP Ernest Kagesi said on Friday the 60 days declared by the Head of State go up to early January 2021, so the event could be held thereafter.
“But this came after having wide consultations with stakeholders and the cultural committee members,” he had said.
“We thank the steering committee for coming up with open minds with room for discussion over the issue.”
