Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni was installed as a Luo elder for the third time during the 4th Edition of the Piny Luo cultural festival held at Got Ramogi on the afternoon of January 2, 2025.
The event took place at the historic Got Ramogi (Ramogi hills), a site where the Luo community first settled in the country during their migration into Kenya and Tanzania from their ancestral homeland in the western Bahr el Ghazal region of South Sudan.
The Luo are one of the largest ethnic groups in East Africa, with members of their community spread across South Sudan, eastern DR Congo, southwestern Ethiopia, northern and eastern Uganda, southwestern Kenya, and northern Tanzania.
Museveni, who was given the honorary recognition as a Luo elder in Kenya alongside President William Ruto, expressed pride for being installed as the community’s elder for the third time.
Members of the Luo-speaking Alur and Acholi communities in Uganda first installed Museveni as their elder, a recognition that was later extended by their cousins in Kenya this January 2025.
Museveni said he is now waiting to be given a Luo name after three Luo communities installed him as their elder.
“At Got Ramogi in Kenya this afternoon, I had the honor of accepting the honorary title of Luo Elder at the ongoing 4th Edition of the Piny Luo cultural festival. This makes the 3rd time for me, first having been the Alur and the Acholi. Now I am waiting for a Luo name,” Museveni said in a statement on X on Thursday, January 2, 2024.
Museveni reflected on the importance of unity across East African communities and reiterated his call for the formation of an East African federation following his installation as a Luo elder in Kenya.
The Ugandan president used the occasion to highlight the historical and modern implications of colonial borders.
“After so many years, you are finally highlighting the unfairness of these borders. What right did those individuals have to put asunder what God had united or annihilate entire communities in various parts of the world? By good luck, Africans survived,” he remarked.
Drawing on the theme of the festival, Museveni called for the region to embrace “Undugu” (brotherhood) as a framework to address challenges and strengthen ties under an East African federation.
“This time, we understand that relying on spears and animal skins is not enough, as the threats we face are more sophisticated. We should leverage our Undugu to strengthen the historical missions of the freedom fighters: Uhuru, Prosperity, and Strategic Security. The Undugu (Federation) is the correct approach,” he said.
Museveni also commended cultural gatherings such as the Luo festival and the recent Ateker meeting in Teso for fostering unity and cultural pride across the region.
The event at Got Ramogi was attended by cultural leaders, dignitaries, and community members, further solidifying Museveni’s symbolic role as a bridge between East African communities.
