Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni is expected to join President William Ruto in celebrating the fourth coronation anniversary of Iteso cultural leader His Royal Highness Emorimor Papa Paul Sande Emolot in Busia county.
The event will be held at Amagoro Comprehensive School on October 31.
Attendance by the two presidents is expected to elevate the celebrations into a major regional cultural and political gathering bringing together leaders from the Ateker communities of East Africa.
Ateker is a distinct group of clans or tribes bound by shared customs, laws, lifestyle and common ancestry who trace their origin from the upper Nile.
They include the Karamojong, Jie, Dodoth, Iteso, Kumam and Langi in Uganda; the Turkana and Teso in Kenya; the Toposa and Jiye in South Sudan; and the Nyangatom in Ethiopia.
Ruto confirmed his attendance when he hosted a delegation of leaders from the Teso community, led by the Emorimor Emolot, at Eldoret State Lodge on August 29.
Event co-planning chairman Robert Papa said Museveni had confirmed he would attend the celebrations alongside Ruto.
The organisers have also extended invitations to South Sudan President Salva Kiir and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, with leaders from other Ateker communities expected to attend.
Papa said the celebrations, initially scheduled for October 22–24, had been rescheduled to October 29–31, to accommodate the President’s calendar.
He said governors from the Ateker nations would use the occasion to convene a meeting aimed at strengthening regional co-operation.
“A chairman is expected to be elected from among the Kenyan governors, with the leadership position proposed to rotate among the participating Ateker regions,” Papa said.
The organisers said the celebrations are intended to bring together the Ateker people across borders while promoting cultural identity, unity, sports and cooperation among the communities.
The event is expected to attract cultural leaders, politicians, government officials and thousands of members of the Iteso and other Ateker communities from Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, and Ethiopia.
The event will be preceded by several cultural and sporting activities, including under-20 soccer competitions two days earlier.
