MIGORI — The empty seat was louder than the drums. For the first time in its history, the Piny Luo Cultural Festival convened at Rongo University on Monday without its patron, the late Raila Amolo Odinga. But amidst the somber reflection on 'Jakom’s' absence, Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang chose not to offer comfort, but a challenge.

Standing before the Luo Council of Elders and its Chairman, Ker Odungi Randa, Kajwang delivered a stinging critique of current cultural practices. His message was clear: The community cannot mourn forever; it must modernize or risk irrelevance. The Senator outlined five urgent concerns that he argued are holding back a demographic powerhouse from realizing its potential.

1. The High Cost of Dying

Kajwang did not mince words regarding the financial hemorrhage caused by modern Luo funerals. He urged the Council to enforce a cultural shift away from flamboyant, week-long burials that leave families destitute.

“Let us enlighten our people to abandon practices of flashy and expensive burials that leave families and households poorer,” Kajwang implored. He pointed to the burial of Raila Odinga himself—concluded within three days—as the ultimate precedent. If the region's kingpin could be laid to rest efficiently to save resources, Kajwang argued, the average household has no excuse to bankrupt itself for the dead. In a region where funeral expenses often exceed KES 500,000 for modest ceremonies, this call strikes at the heart of household economics.

2. The 'Jewish Nation' Benchmark

Perhaps the most provocative point was Kajwang’s comparison of the Luo community to the Jewish people. Citing a population of nearly 25 million Luos spread across East Africa (from South Sudan to Tanzania), he questioned why this demographic weight has not translated into global leverage.

“The Luo nation is as large as the Jewish nation—we are bigger than the Zulu. Yet the Jewish nation influences the world. How can the Luo synergise to reach that level?” he posed. The Senator challenged the elders to craft a strategy that converts numbers into political and economic capital, rather than just voting blocks.

3. A Crisis of Identity

With the traditional removal of six lower teeth long abandoned, Kajwang warned that Luo youth are growing up without a defining rite of passage. He observed that many young people are “Luo by name only,” lacking cultural immersion.

• The Ask: He tasked the elders with inventing a modern rite of passage that instills values and identity without physical mutilation.
• The Goal: To rival communities like the Maasai and Kikuyu, who have successfully modernized their initiation ceremonies to keep culture alive.

4. The Suba Question

Touching on a historically sensitive nerve, Kajwang—who is of mixed Luo and Suba heritage—called for the full, unequivocal embrace of the Suba people. He urged the Council to stop treating the Suba as a periphery group and instead integrate them as core members of the Luo family. This unity, he suggested, is critical for the political consolidation of the Nyanza region in a post-Raila era.

5. Economic Sovereignty via Devolution

Finally, the Senator pivoted to the bread-and-butter issue: poverty. He reminded the gathering that while Raila Odinga is gone, his legacy of Devolution remains. Kajwang warned that culture cannot thrive on empty stomachs.

“Raila left us with devolved county governments at the grassroots,” he noted, challenging the governors of Kisumu, Siaya, Homa Bay, and Migori to harmonize their economic blueprints. The focus, he insisted, must shift from national political grievances to local wealth creation, ensuring that the "Luo Nation" becomes an economic bloc capable of feeding itself.

As the festival continues, the burden now shifts to Ker Odungi Randa. The Council of Elders must decide whether these five points will become the new law of the land, or if they will remain merely the words of a politician speaking to the wind.