-
This year’s would have been the 20th edition of the festival.
-
The four-day festival is normally in the last week of November or the first week of December and is hosted in the Lamu old town.
The 2020 Lamu Cultural Festival has been cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
It would have been the 20th edition of the festival since inception in 2000.
The festival is celebrated annually and showcases the rich culture and heritage of Lamu's Swahili people.
It's normally preceded by various activities, including the famous donkey race, swimming, dhow races and a combination of traditional dances.
While confirming the cancellation on Tuesday, Lamu Governor Fahim Twaha said it would be impossible to host the festival and still be able to make people observe social distancing.
“This year’s Lamu Cultural Festival will unfortunately not be marked due to the Covid-19 situation in the country. Let us all observe government health directives and remain safe,” Governor Twaha said.
The four-day festival is normally in the last week of November or the first week of December and is hosted in the Lamu old town.
The town, a world heritage site, was listed by Unesco in 2001.
The festival is renowned for its economic returns for traders, hoteliers and business people who have reported reaping huge profits. The event is known to attract thousands of visitors and tourists from around the world.
Lamu hotelier Asman Bwanamkuu said they had been looking forward to redeem their businesses that have been hit by the pandemic during the festival.
“It’s a blow that the festival won’t happen. We were hoping it would help our businesses recover from the blow dealt by the pandemic,” Bwanamkuu said.
Fellow hotelier Ali Bunu, owner of the SunSail Hotel on Lamu Island, however, said its right that the festival be cancelled as the pandemic was getting worse.
“I support the county government’s decision to cancel the festival. I don’t want to imagine what would have been the outcome in terms of the number of infections if such a crowd as normally witnessed is allowed to gather on this island,” Bunu said.
He, however, challenged the county government to conduct aggressive advertisement for the festival in future to attract more people.
“The festival has not been well planned, advertised and executed in recent years compared to previous years when the county government would really market it. We would receive ambassadors from France, the US, the UK and other countries. International tourists would also flock this place for the event.”
“Nowadays, the festival has lost its originality, touch and colour. It’s not the same anymore,” Bunu said.