Is the kwara kwara dance leading Pokot teens into prostitution?
Lopet location Chief Isaac Lomwai said they had to ban the dance in his area because many underage girls were being married off.
It is 8pm on a Saturday in Orwolo village, Kacheliba sub-county, West Pokot, and villagers are gathering for a fundraiser for women’s groups.
A music system is mounted at the venue and is blaring with the popular kwara kwara music.
Among those arriving are young men and women and giggling teenagers.
They have been pulled to the venue by the now popular kwara kwara music, which has taken the Pokot community by storm.
Without wasting time, the young men and women, including the teenagers, line up, ready to take part in the dance.
It is an open party and for many, it will be a long night of dancing to the music and more.
Dancing to the music involves jumping and exchanging legs as one shakes their body.
It is the dance style that gave it the name kwara kwara, where young women clad in traditional Pokot pleated free-flowing skirts known locally as lorwa dance as their skirts swing in the air. The dance is usually performed at night during parties and harambees.
The dancers, a majority of them girls, go round in circles making patterns, while shaking their behinds, completely lost in the music.
But there is a problem – this dancing style exposes their nakedness as they swing their lorwas.
The kwara kwara music dance has taken North Pokot by storm, as well as some parts of northern Uganda and is slowly replacing the old Pokot kidong’a dance.
The new music and accompanying dance have become popular in the remotest areas of North Pokot sub-county and some areas in neighbouring Uganda like Amudat, Karita, Lokales.
The afro-fusion music-type fused with traditional Kalenjin beats and South African instrumentals have sent local musicians back to the drawing board, and this has seen them modify their music to attract more fans.
Increasing immorality
The music and dance, though now very popular, is gaining a bad reputation, with the authorities citing it for increasing immorality and pregnancies among Pokot teens.
West Pokot is among counties with high rates of teen pregnancies.
Three months ago, the government banned the dance in the Kacheliba sub-county, blaming it for rising teenage pregnancies and early marriages that result in higher school dropout rates.
Deputy County Commissioner Kennedy Kiprop banned the dances, terming them catalysts of prostitution and immorality.
“There is this new dance called kwara kwara that is popular among the youth that has led to immorality among them. I am banning it with immediate effect, asking all the chiefs and their assistants to crack the whip and arrest those who hinder the ban,” he said at a public meeting in Kodich.
“I urge locals not to allow your youths in the villages to hold this dance as it is derailing the gains we had made in educating our children, especially the girls,” he said.
He asked chiefs in the county to report any planned ceremonies before they occur to help save girls from the vice.
Mr James Lomachar, a Kacheliba resident, says the new dance attracts masses and women dance underwear-less while men only wrap bedsheets and shukas around themselves, which increases sexual contact as they brush against each other.
He said the dance increases sexual arousal among participants and thus contributes to immorality.
Made them pregnant
“We have cases of women who have become pregnant and they cannot even tell who made them pregnant,” Mr Lomachar told Nation.Africa.
The kwara kwara dance first evolved from fundraising ceremonies where people used to dance before the event began. The dancing would go on until late at night, with men and women dancing together.
It started gaining popularity three years ago and is enjoyed by people of all generations and spices up night parties and fundraisers, among other celebrations.
Some of the musicians incorporating the kwara kwara style in their performances are Pokot Boy, Rwata Boy and Digital.
Massacah, a Ugandan music producer based in Kapenguria, said he had recorded countless kwara kwara songs since 2021.
“Every local musician who comes here wants kwara kwara because that is what his or her fans want. I am a modern music producer, but I have been compelled by my customers to record the new type of music,” he said.
Alice Cheyech, a resident of Kodich village, said the dance is so popular that even young boys and girls at university have embraced it.
“Kwara kwara means the lorwa skirt flowing free in the air. Kwara kwara is nowadays the talk in the villages. No function can go on well without kwara kwara musicians singing and people dancing,” she added.
Rasta Innocent, a Karamojong musician, whose real name is Abraham Angela, says the Pokot community appreciates speedy music.
“If you sing or play other songs in any ceremony, people will just look at you. But the moment they hear the kwara kwara beats, everyone gets up on their feet and runs to the arena to dance. In all ceremonies it is kwara kwara,” said the musician, who sings dancehall music.
Promote immorality
The kwara kwara is also popular on Kalenjin FM radio stations and has also received a fair share of internet play.
Organisations fighting female genital mutilation (FGM) and early pregnancies in the county have also raised concern over night parties and prayers, saying they promote immorality among teenage girls in the region.
World Vision Girl Child Protection Officer Teresa Cheptoo, an anti-FGM champion, blamed night parties and ceremonies for the high rate of teen pregnancies in the county.
“Celebrations like kidong’a, women’s silk meetings and night church prayers have contributed to this rise,” she said.
Lopet location Chief Isaac Lomwai said they had to ban the dance in his area because many underage girls were being married off.
Mr Lopet said many of the teen pregnancies during the Covid-19 period in the region were attributed to the kwara kwara dance.
“The dance is also called lopeikirep. Many girls participate in the dance more than boys,” he said.
He also said night harambees were banned for the same reason.
“The style attracts more girls to join the queues where they shake their bottoms. Some people complained about why we had to ban the night harambees. We told them they can only do the harambees during the day,” he said.
Chelopoy Primary School headteacher Lonyangabok Andrew said 10 girls in the school were at home because they are pregnant. She too blamed the kwara kwara dance.
“Say no to kwara kwara, no to loipekirep, no to free boda boda lifts,” she said.
But Ms Selina Kipkirkir, known as Mama Culture, blamed parents for abdicating their parental responsibility, saying many have left their young girls to participate in the dance at night, despite the dangers.
“The schoolgirls dance during night harambees and they are not contributing anything. When we ask them how they came up with the dancing style, they cannot even explain. No one has told them the dancing style is seductive,” she said.
