By Okong’o Oduya
Nairobi, Kenya: Kapel National Monument in Teso North Busia County is one of Kenya’s premier rock artworks in Kenya that is little known even by the Busia residents.
The other ones are Nairobi National Park, Lewa Downs in Meru County, one in Turkana County, and another one in Mfangano Island in Homabay.
According to the director Department of Tourism in Busia County, Ms. Inviolata Ndubi, the department took the initiative to open up all tourist sites in the County that are hardly known by Kenyans.
“Little is known about the tourist sites in Busia including the famous Kakapel monument in Teso North. Busia residents hardly know about the site apart from the researchers who visit the site for their academic purposes. The monument hosts Chelelemuk hills good for hiking which will give you a clear view of Mt Elgon, Tororo rocks in Uganda, and Siaya plains in Siaya County, 270 meters high,” she noted.
Addressing the press during the site visit tour organized by the Department of Tourism in Busia to identify all tourist sites in the County Ms. Ndubi noted that the initiative is to let the whole world know the natural resources in Busia that are good for tourist attraction.
“This tourism circuit is purposely to open up and let the world know that besides Kakapel National Monument there are other tourist attraction sites in Busia,” she said.
She revealed that the next circuit will be to visit Mukhondo Conservancy in Muhondo Bay, a home for the endangered sitatunga.
“The next circuit will be to visit Muhondo Conservancy, a home for the endangered Sitatunga within Yala swamp besides enjoying beaches along the shores of Lake Victoria” she clarified.
She noted that as a department after documenting all the sites they will gazette them, then develop Busia County tourism prospectors to help market tourism in Busia.
“Once we document all these sites we will be able to gazette them and develop a Busia County tourism prospector and have it marketed globally so that Busia can be included in the Western tourism circuit.”
Angurai South Member of County Assembly Mr. Joseph Eseme said to promote tourism in Busia the county assembly will allocate money to the department to enable it to perform its duties effectively.
“The tourism department in Busia for a long time lacked proper leadership structure, the reason why the assembly did not see the need to allocate the money there. But with what is going on we have got a reason to allocate enough resources to the department and see that the department takes tourism in the county to the higher levels,” he noted.
According to the Kakapel National Monument curator Mr. Thomas Namuye, the site has artifacts that have attracted a lot of researchers and geologists to learn about the culture of people around the monument arguing the county government and other stakeholders to help the center come up with interpretation center to offer the exhibitions at the site.
He promised that the National Museum monument would work closely with the County government of Busia to promote tourism not only at the Kakapel monument but across the county.
According to Ms. Selyne Olando, one of the hikers at Chelelemuk Hills famously known as Kakapel Museum, there is a need for the government to partner with other stakeholders to introduce other sports events at the site to make the place vibrant to attract both local and international tourists.
“A lot needs to be done here to make this place lively. Let the government add more facilities and other activities such as sporting events, without forgetting the introduction of wildlife that are not dangerous to the surrounding community and by doing so this place will attract many tourists,” she said.
Director of Social Services Mr. Charles Wakhaya there are a lot of opportunities at Kakapel Monument that are yet to be tapped adding that more needs to be done to open up the place and the county in general in terms of tourism.
“As Busia, we need to encourage ourselves to explore more in our tourist sites and to monetize the artifacts at the site to better the revenue collection in the county,” he noted.
