And Rigathi danced as curtains close on national music festival
What you need to know:
- Gachagua showcased his dancing skills as he attended the 94th edition of the Kenya Music Festival at Kisumu Girls High School.
- Mr Rigathi, who was entertained by students from across the country with a cocktail of music and dance, could not hold it anymore when Kisii National School hit the stage with an obokhano piece.
- Among the teams that performed at the gala were Narok High School, Kisii National Polytechnic, Sigalagala National Polytechnic, Ramogi Institute of Advance Technology, Kenya Navy Primary School, Thogoto TTC and Damacrest Primary School.
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua yesterday showcased his dancing skills as he attended the 94th edition of the Kenya Music Festival at Kisumu Girls High School.
Mr Rigathi, who was entertained by students from across the country with a cocktail of music and dance, could not hold it anymore when Kisii National School hit the stage with an obokhano piece.
He joined in the dance playing the eight-stringed instrument himself as he also danced.
Mr Gachagua was at the event as the chief guest during its closing ceremony.
The event featured students from pre-primary, primary and secondary schools, as well as colleges and universities. It was held after a two-year hiatus following the Covid-19 pandemic.
A massive dome tent was erected on open ground to accommodate both guests and performers.
Traditionally, the festival usually ends with the gala at State House hosted by the Head of State and his guests.
High expectation
However, this year things were different as President William Ruto, who was expected in Kisumu for the event, is still away in the US where he attended the 77th United Nations General Assembly.
Other dignitaries were Education Cabinet secretary George Magoha, Mr Peter Wanjohi, the National Chairman of Kenya Music Festival and Kisumu Governor Anyang Nyong'o.
Initially, there were high expectations that Dr Ruto will be visiting Kisumu as his first assignment outside the capital city since he was elected.
During the gala cum finalist concert yesterday, top schools at the festival performed in front of thousands of invited guests, trainers and teachers.
Among the teams that performed at the gala were Narok High School, Kisii National Polytechnic, Sigalagala National Polytechnic, Ramogi Institute of Advance Technology, Kenya Navy Primary School, Thogoto TTC, Damacrest Primary School, St Peters Rapogi, Kenyatta University and National Youth Service, Nairobi.
The event lived up to its billing as it had virtually everything for music lovers; from African cultural dances, international folk and cultural dances, contemporary music and dance, verses in English and other international languages, instrumentation and various other categories of art.
The participants handled several socially relevant themes that included terrorism (its causes, consequences and prevention measures), online protection of young internet users, the importance of paying taxes and social values and integrity among many others.
“As you have witnessed, the Kenya Music Festival is multi-pronged. It is aimed to entertain, educate and generally celebrate our cultural heritage. We do this through diversity,” said the event’s executive secretary Janet Langat.
Apart from being rich thematically and being colourful in terms of costumes and dance varieties, another thing which stood out at the festival was the quality of trainers, most of whom are teachers
The choice of venues, Kisumu Boys and Kisumu Girls schools as well as Arya was apt.
The auditoriums are not only spacious and modern, but the two schools share a common boundary and it was thus easy for participants who had performances in both venues to participate.
