Uganda dominated the International Hymn Festivals (IHF) in Mombasa early this month.
They won in almost all categories with churches from Kenya, Tanzania and South Sudan trailing. Kenya was second, ahead of Tanzania and South Sudan.
St Apollo Kirebuloya, Namasaba of the Diocese of Namirembe in Uganda, emerged as the overall winner of the festivals.
Before the festivals, Kenyan churches exuded confidence in a repeat of the 2023 edition, where they dominated in Dodoma, Tanzania.
Admitting to their dismal performance in Mombasa, Nakuru-based music teacher Philemon Ogolla said a lot still needs to be done for them to regain their lost glory.
“First, we need to take our training sessions seriously and get committed,” he said.
The music teacher called on the parish church leadership to be supportive of the choir masters in this endeavour in the fight for top honours.
“We need total support from church leadership right from the parish level upwards if we are to emerge as the next champions again against our competitors,” said Ogolla, who is the Head of Music at the Anglican Church of the Good Shepherd in Nakuru.
ACK Cathedral Church of the Good Shepherd, Nakuru, finished in Position 16.
Choir Director at ACK St Luke Cathedral Church in Kitale, Aggrey Lugalya, attributed the dismal performance of Kenyan churches to a lack of consistency in their training sessions.
Lugalya advised that there is a need for the Kenyan Anglican choirs to adopt and sing competitive hymns, as opposed to the regular ones that are well known and sung by almost all evangelical churches.
“It’ll give us an edge over our competitors when it comes to the IHF festivals,” said Lugalya, who once was the choir director at ACK Cathedral Church of the Good Shepherd in Nakuru.
Music teacher Dr Erick Amunga said Kenyan churches have long suffered from an identity crisis, which should now be corrected.
He advised them to stick with a particular language and specialise in it if they wanted to excel.
The 12th edition of the festivals will be held in Nakuru next year.