Held in

Mbale Mbale is a city in the Eastern Region of Uganda. It is the main municipal, administrative, and commercial center of Mbale District and the surrounding sub-region. Location Mbale is approximately , by road, northeast of Kampala, Uganda's capita ...

town every 26 December, the Maragoli Cultural Festival was for a long time, in decades gone by, the biggest event of the year in the region - coming a day after Christmas: probably the biggest holiday in Kenya; and frequently attended by the former president

Daniel Arap Moi Daniel Toroitich arap Moi ( ; 2 September 1924 – 4 February 2020) was a Kenyan politician who served as the second president of Kenya from 1978 to 2002. He was the country's longest-serving president. Moi previously served as the third vice ...

. It is a showcase of the culture and traditions of, not only the Maragoli but, the whole

Luhya Luhya or Abaluyia may refer to: * Luhya people * Luhya language Luhya (; also Luyia, Luhia or Luhiya) is a Bantu language of western Kenya. Dialects The various Luhya tribes speak several related languages and dialects, though some of them are ...

community that resides in

Vihiga District Vihiga County is an administrative region in the former Western Province of Kenya whose headquarters are in Mbale, the largest town in the county. The county has a population of 554,622 (2009 census) and an area of 563 km2. Formally a dist ...

. This luhya community comprises the

Maragoli The Maragoli, or Logoli (''Ava-Logooli''), are now the second-largest ethnic group of the 6 million-strong Luhya nation in Kenya, numbering around 2.1 million, or 15% of the Luhya people according to the last Kenyan census. Their language is ...

, bunyore, tiriki and the neighbouring idakho and kisa. The festival is organised by the Vihiga Cultural Society. The first patron was the late

Moses Mudavadi Moses Substone Budamba Mudavadi (1923-1989) was an influential politician from Sabatia, Kenya, in the early post-independence years under former president Daniel Moi. He was the first patron of the Maragoli Cultural Festival until his death ...

, father of one of Kenya's two deputy prime ministers

Musalia Mudavadi Wycliffe Musalia Mudavadi (born 21 September 1960) is a Kenyan politician and land economist who is currently serving as the Prime Cabinet Secretary of Kenya. Until October 2022, he was also the party leader of the Amani National Congress (ANC ...

References

{{reflist Annual events in Kenya Public holidays in Kenya Vihiga County