UGANDA CONSULATE MOMBASA HOSTS THE INAUGURAL UGANDA CULTURAL EXHIBITION AT MAMBA VILLAGE IN MOMBASA
In a bid to promote Uganda as a leading tourism destination, the Consulate General of Uganda in Mombasa hosted the Uganda Cultural Exhibition on 22nd February 2025 at Mamba Village in Mombasa. The event which was held under the theme, “leveraging Uganda culture and cuisine to promote tourism”, was aimed at showcasing Uganda’s rich diverse culture, cuisine, music, dance and other tourism products to Kenyan stakeholders to attract them to visit Uganda. The event was attended by over 1000 guests mainly from Kenya Coastal County Governments, the private sector especially from Chambers of Commerce and Industry, banks, tour companies and travel agencies, hotels, hospitals, logistics companies, education institutions as well as local and international tourists visiting Mombasa.
The event begun with a cultural exhibition by Ugandan exhibitors from Buganda Tourism Board representing Buganda Kingdom, Kara Tunga representing Karamoja, Koogere Foundation representing Bunyoro- Kitara/ Tooro, Igongo Ankole Cultural Museum representing Ankole, Ministry of Tourism of Busoga Kingdom representing Busoga, Vilakazi Safaris representing Northern Uganda, Namugongo Catholic Martyrs Shrine, Ewaffe Cultural Village and Eyalama Adventures Ltd. After the exhibition, invited guests were hosted to a sumptuous Uganda dinner with dishes such as Luwombo, matooke, malakwang, gnut paste, katogo and cocktails of Uganda waragi. Throughout the event, guests were shown video clips about Uganda’s niche tourism products and also treated to breathtaking cultural performances by Crane Performers.
In his remarks, Hon. Mohamed Osman, the County Executive Committee Member for Tourism, Culture and Trade for Mombasa County, who was the chief guest at the event commended Uganda Consulate Mombasa for its commitment to fostering cultural and economic ties between Uganda and the Kenya Coast. He said, “events such as the Uganda cultural exhibition serve not only to celebrate heritage but also to create opportunities for economic growth, partnership and investment between Uganda and Kenya”. On his part, Amb. Paul Mukumbya, the Consul General of Uganda to Mombasa expressed his gratitude to all stakeholders for their unwavering support and participation in the Uganda Cultural Exhibition. He emphasized the need to promote both destinations in the spirit of partnership rather than competition. He indicated that this will boost regional tourism as guests can visit both destinations seamlessly on the same itinerary.
Other dignitaries who attended the event were: Hon. Getrude Shuwe, the County Executive Committee Member for Trade, Tourism, Cooperative Development and Industrialization for Taita Taveta County, Hon. Michael Mutua, County Executive Committee Member for Tourism, Trade and Enterprise Development, Hon. Clara Chonga, County Executive Committee Member for Public Service Management, Devolution and Communication Kilifi County.
Since 2022, the Consulate General has been working with key tourism stakeholders in Uganda and the Kenya Coast to promote tourism growth between Uganda and the Kenya Coast, based on the concept of complementarity between the tourism products of the two destinations. A number of activities have been carried out in this endeavor, including annual tourism conferences, festivals, golf tournaments and fam trips. Kenya remains Uganda’s leading source market for tourists with over 490,000 Kenyans visiting Uganda in 2023 while Uganda is Kenya’s second biggest source market for tourists with 225,559 Ugandans visiting Kenya in 2024.
