Western Kenya counties unite to hold maiden Mulembe fiesta

Residents of the five counties that form the Western region will this year be treated to a three-day cultural event in a quest to boost tourism.

Kakamega Governor Fernandes Barasa and his Bungoma counterpart Kenneth Lusaka have revealed that the event will take place on the third week of December.

“Every county out of the five will have their events and then we will have three days of the mega event here in Kakamega. We will also have a football match on the final day,” Barasa said.

The counties which will host the final event are Bungoma, Busia, Trans Nzoia, Vihiga and Kakamega.

Barasa was speaking when he met Lusaka and a delegation of representatives from the five counties at the Kakamega county headquarters.

Kenya Utalii College chairperson David Wamatsi who was part of the meeting committed to support the initiative.

“We will invite our famous musicians in Western who will perform and there will be a food fiesta to showcase delicacies known in Western for example mukombera and locally prepared mushrooms,” he said.

On his part, Governor Lusaka said that the event would boost economic development in the Western region through tourism.

"We have agreed on a roadmap because we have a lot of talent, we will market some of these local products and they will even find themselves on the shelves of supermarkets and being sold internationally,” Lusaka said.

Technical committees will be set up in the five counties to spearhead the preparation and implementation of the event.

Residents will also get access to tourist attraction sites in the five counties including Crying Stone (Kakamega), Nabuyole Falls (Bungoma), Maragoli Hills (Vihiga), Samia Hills (Busia) and Kitale Museum (Trans Nzoia).