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Uganda to host Kiswahili Day festivities
First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for East African Affairs Rebecca Kadaga. Photo/File
What you need to know:
- Addressing the media in Kampala last Friday, Ms Rebecca Kadaga, the Minister for East African Affairs and First Deputy Prime Minister, said the event will attract delegates, stakeholders and academicians, policymakers and students from the East African community.
Uganda is set to host the Second International Day of Kiswahili on Friday.
Addressing the media in Kampala last Friday, Ms Rebecca Kadaga, the Minister for East African Affairs and First Deputy Prime Minister, said the event will attract delegates, stakeholders and academicians, policymakers and students from the East African community.
“You may recall that two years ago, the United Nations adopted Kiswahili as the first African official language to be used in the United Nations so the celebrations will happen every July 7. This will be the second year,” Ms Kadaga said.
She added: “Last year, the celebrations were held in Zanzibar and because of our poor capacity, the East African Community agreed to come to Uganda so that we can have the celebrations here to give us a boost in our campaign.”
The minister said the celebrations will include recognising and awarding those who have dedicated themselves to the use of the Kiswahili language in the region.
“So we shall come together for that reason. …for the first time, we shall have presentations in Kiswahili,” Ms Kadaga said.
She added that because of budget constraints, the day will be marked with a symposium.
The minister also encouraged the public to learn French since the country has a number of Congolese nationals.
She added that Cabinet is performing well in their Swahili classes and will soon hold a meeting in Kiswahili.
Ms Kadaga also revealed that there is a plan to carry out a census for Kiswahili speakers in Uganda.
In 2021, Cabinet approved the implementation of the 21st East African Community (EAC) summit directive in Uganda to adopt Kiswahili as an official language of the community.
About kiswahili
Kiswahili, mainly spoken in the East African region, is a fusion of the dialect born of Bantu and Arabic languages.
It is one of the world’s top 10 most spoken languages and Africa’s most widely used native lingua.
It is a national language in Kenya, Tanzania and now Uganda. It is also widely spoken in parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda and Burundi.
It is the first African language to be honoured by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco).
