Town vs Grassroot Beef: Turkana East Homegrown Artists Slam Lodwar Colleagues for ‘Hijacking’ Their Slots
A humorous yet heated row has erupted among creatives from Turkana East, with grassroots artists accusing their counterparts who migrated to Lodwar (now jokingly branded as “Town Artists”) of grabbing every opportunity meant for the region.
The rant comes in light of the upcoming Tobong’u Lore cultural festival, Turkana’s premier celebration of indigenous heritage, slated for December 2nd to 5th, 2025.
A group led by Ikush and Jonathan claimed that the moment slots are set aside for Turkana East performers, the town-based team rushes to claim them, sidelining the homegrown talent still hustling in the grassroots.
“They left for town and somehow became our automatic representatives,” Ikush quipped. “Any time something is labelled ‘Turkana East’, they hijack.”
Jonathan added that some town artists now allegedly parade themselves as the “face of Turkana East,” even though many last visited their home villages long time ago.
The group is now appealing to the Ministry of Tourism to safeguard and strictly reserve certain creative slots for home-based artists, insisting the region’s rising talent must not be overshadowed ahead of Tobong’u Lore.
As this story was published, the accused town artists were yet to respond to the allegations.