The government has officially commissioned the long awaited Uriri Film Hub in Migori County.
The facility, was unveiled in a ceremony attended by local leadership, senior government officials, and hundreds of young creatives.
Principal Secretary for the State Department for Youth Affairs and the Creative Economy, Fikirini Jacobs, lauded the area lawmaker Mark Nyamita, for his vision in establishing a world class production space directly in the rural grassroots.
“This facility is not a routine political project; it is a targeted economic intervention,” PS Jacobs said.
“The Uriri Film Hub will help our youth realize, create, and amplify their dreams and talents within the global creative space. We are giving you the tools now go and tell the stories of your village
The Principal Secretary took a swipe at historical educational systems that forced Kenya’s top academic achievers into rigid, traditional career paths.
“We have come from a past where a young person who scores an ‘A’ in KCSE has only three pathways to follow: engineering, law, or medicine. Only after studying those can they find time to learn a little cinematography or media,” he argued.
He lauded the new Curriculum Based Education (CBE) system, highlighting that Grade 10 students can now formally choose specialized pathways in Arts and Sports. This enables them to study performing arts, music, digital media, and film from an early age.
Currently, the creative economy contributes up to 5% of Kenya’s National Gross Domestic Product (GDP). PS Jacobs emphasized that by formalizing and streamlining the sector, the government aims to dramatically scale up this percentage.
Protection of Content Creators
Turning to the protection of intellectual property, the PS addressed the heavy government interventions aimed at stopping the exploitation of local artists.
Mr Jacobs cited the recent high-profile incident where an American national allegedly defrauded Kenyan Gengetone and Urbanton artists of their copyrights and YouTube monetization rights, walking away with content worth an estimated KSh 700 million.
To permanently seal these loopholes, the PS revealed that the ministry is aggressively pushing the Creative Economy Bill 2026, which is currently before Parliament awaiting publication and stakeholder engagement.
The bill seeks to promote, manage, and formalize the creative industry, incentivize foreign direct investment into local production, regulate and rigidly protect the intellectual property of young creators.
The government, through the Kenya Copyright Board (KECOBO), has mandated all Collection Management Organizations (CMOs) to link their bank accounts directly to the e-Citizen portal to end opaque royalty accounting.
The sheer hunger for creative training in Uriri was made clear by the massive, unexpected turnout for the hub’s inaugural masterclasses.
Organizers initially projected a maximum of 200 participants for a rapid two week introductory program which kicked off on day one with a modest 78 students.
Content monetization
The area lawmaker expressed high optimism that the studio will bridge the long standing gap that previously kept regional talent from competing on the national stage, noting that Uriri will no longer be left out of prestigious events like the annual Kalasha Awards.
He also revealed that preliminary discussions have already been held with major broadcasters to broadcast high quality, beautifully crafted local stories from the region.
The studio will also offer highly subsidized recording rates for community choirs and local digital content creators, providing advanced editing suites for platforms like TikTok and Facebook.
Creatives were challenged to produce content centered on vital local subjects
PS Jacobs concluded the launch by addressing the status of the Nyota Project, a national youth empowerment initiative.
He reassured beneficiaries that recent delays regarding the second stipend disbursement caused by budgetary alignments have been fully resolved.
The ministry confirmed that schedules will be released before the end of the month, transitioning the Sh25,000 grant payments into convenient weekly disbursements.
However, the PS expressed deep concern over the low turnout for the On the Job Experience (OJE) component in Uriri.
While the government targeted 350 youth in Uriri Constituency, only 276 responded to the social emotional training, and just 100 have come forward to be placed with master craftsmen.
“Tafadhalini (Please), respond to the call so that you are placed, assessed, given certificates by NITA, and transitioned into employment,” PS Jacobs urged.
“Sometimes, while we wait for the biggest opportunities, let us start with the ones that have already arrived.”
The launch concluded with a final word of caution from the leadership, urging the youth to aggressively and legally monetize their content online, while issuing a stern warning, “Don’t use your social media in the wrong way.”
