Bomas of Kenya celebrated its 50th-anniversary marking years of excellence in preserving Kenya’s rich and diverse cultures for tourism development. The popular tourist site marked this special occasion by launching a modernized, 950 pax capacity, cultural and conference auditorium named the Baraza Hall.
Hosted by the Bomas of Kenya CEO Peter Gitaa, the celebrations were graced by top officials from the Ministry of Tourism & Wildlife. In attendance was Cabinet Secretary Hon. Najib Balala, Chief Administrative Secretary Hon. Joseph Boinnet and Principal Secretary Hon. Safina Kwekwe.
The celebration agenda was packed with a lot of exciting achievements one being the launch of the revolutionary Sample Bar. This is a digital preservation tool for Kenyan instruments and sounds as part of the Bomas’ efforts to fuse Kenyan culture and technology for posterity.
Bomas also launched their highly anticipated signature tune during this auspicious occasion. The tune features sound from various Kenyan traditional musical instruments. These instruments include: nyatiti, gaara, nyiduonge drums, ajawa, kalapapla, chapuo, bumbumbu, sengenya drums, Kayamba, upatsu and chivoti.
To honor Kenya’s rich culture, the celebrations also involved the planting of a Mugumo tree by The Cabinet Secretary. This was done to mark the beginning of the Botanical Garden project. This is project will see traditionally significant trees planted in the Bomas of Kenya land.
Being the hub for Kenyan culture, attendees were treated to a wide range of Kenyan cuisine. The menu was packed with goodies such as matoke, saget, ugali, mshikaki, mutura, biryani, wali wa nazi, kumbe kumbe, aliya, mursik, mukimo, and muratina just to mention a few. They also got to tour Bomas’ famous traditional villages and enjoy traditional dances with the institution’s eclectic dancers.
According to The Bomas of Kenya CEO, the institution prides itself on several achievements. These include the Utamaduni Restaurant, 5000 + international tourist visits annually, being a center for cultural research, Bomas Art Gallery, and world-class conferencing facilities just to mention a few.
In his speech, the Ministry of Tourism & Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Hon. Najib Balala promised the Bomas of Kenya support from his ministry. He further urged the management of institution to make Kenyan culture more interesting so as to gain more local and international tourism revenue.
