COMEDIANS DR. OFWENEKE & BUTITA CALL FOR UNITY OF LUHYA CULTURAL EVENTS

Media personality and comedian Dr. Ofweneke has addressed the lack of unity in Luhya cultural events, calling out organisers for hosting what he describes as small, tiny, and classless gatherings instead of consolidating resources to produce a grand, high-standard festival.

Speaking in a social media video, Dr. Ofweneke revealed that he has postponed his Isukuti Festival indefinitely, citing frustration over disunity among the Luhya community’s failure to rally behind a single cultural Event.

The comedian said the reason why he wanted to hold the event was because, “I wanted to upscale the class of events celebrating Luhya culture, music, and heritage. We are a five-county, 12-sub-tribe community, why are we still hosting small pub events instead of grand festivals?” He said.

He also wanted to dispel the myth that Luhyas don’t spend, “Luhyas do have money, but we’ve never had a well-organized, high-class event that justifies big spending. My goal was to change that perception.”

Isukuti Fest was meant to set a new standard for Luhya artists payments, “Our top artists still charge under KSh300,000, while Luo artists like Emma Jalamo and Prince Indah command KSh500,000 and above. Isukuti Fest was meant to set a new standard in artist payments, branding, and performance quality.”

Dr. Ofweneke further lamented, “Instead of uniting, we now have five different Luhya festivals. What is the goal? To prove the world right when they say Luhyas can’t unite? I funded Isukuti Fest from my own pocket, no sponsors, just my MC earnings, yet some still badmouth me. I won’t fuel this division.”

The comedian has stepped back, postponing Isukuti Fest to allow other organisers to “take the lead.” “If we truly love our culture, we must come together. Until then, I’ll attend their events because that’s what clean-hearted people do.”

Comedian Eddie Butita echoed these sentiments, stating, “At this point, I’ve accepted that Luhya unity won’t happen soon. We have 14+ festivals, why can’t we have one major, successful event?“