This archive report was first published on 28 July 2019.
On July 28, 2019, a petition was submitted to the Clerk of National Assembly seeking to amend Chapter two of the Constitution and elevate the Luo language to an official status.
Mr Sammy Gwada Ogot, a renowned researcher, argues that the Luo language has the capacity to generate, record, translate, instruct, and transmit knowledge in a scientific manner.
He claims that the Luo language is the foundation of universal knowledge and should be recognised by being elevated to an official status.
"That this petition identifies Luo as the first language for scientific and liturgical instructions of the world and as the root of all others, including Kiswahili and English, both which enjoy national and official status in the Constitution," Mr Ogot says.
Article 7 of the Constitution currently identifies Kiswahili as the national language while Kiswahili and English are listed as the official languages.
Mr Ogot wants the article amended to include Luo alongside Kiswahili and English, which he argues aligns with the government's policy to promote and protect the diversity of language of the people of Kenya.
