Ugandan Gov’t Makes U-Turn as Prime Minister Okays Nyege Nyege Festival
Government has given organizers of Nyege Nyege green light to carry on with their event as planned.
This overturns the earlier decision Parliament which on Tuesday directed for the cancellation of event over alleged immorality.
In a meeting with stakeholders on Wednesday in Kampala, Uganda’s Prime Minister Rt.Hon.Robinah Nabbanja gave permission for the Nyege Nyege festival organizers to go on with their event as planned.
Nabanjja also cautioned the security officers to keep law and order throughout the festival.
The festival that is scheduled for Thursday, 15 September 2022 for three days at the Source of the Nile in Jinja district was first held in 2013.
On Tuesday, the district Woman MP for Tororo, Hon. Sarah Opendi, said during plenary on Tuesday, 06 September 2022, that the event which goes on during both day and night for three days breeds immorality.
“What is the government’s position on this growing immorality in this country, and it is going to attract all kinds of people all over the world, bringing all kinds of activities that are non-African, non-Ugandan into our communities?” Opendi questioned.
Hon. Rose Lilly Akello, the Minister of Ethics and Integrity said that government has been working together with the Uganda Police and the event organizers and that the latter have been summoned for a meeting in which they will have to agree to certain terms and conditions for the event to proceed.
“Children below 18 years are not allowed to attend the event. Secondly, nobody should go to that event naked, nobody should go to the event naked, nobody should go to the event with exposure of the body, and nobody should do any immoral activities,” Akello said.
The Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among, tasked the minister to explain the benefit the country gets out of Nyege Nyege. She also wondered if the event is not held, what the country will lose.
She said that the country should not be sold in the name of tourism.
Hon. Martin Mugarra, the Minister of State for Tourism, said Nyege Nyege is a huge tourism opportunity that has so far attracted over 8,000 tourists flying into Uganda and have bought entry tickets and booked hotels.
“As we speak now, around 8,000 foreigners have already paid tickets and have booked to come and sleep in this country,” he said. He agreed that there was need to set conditions for the event to happen.
According to organizers ,Nyege Nyege promotes outsider music, primarily electronic by African artists. In addition to organizing ongoing parties and an artist residency, the collective runs two record labels and a multi-day annual festival. Its name refers to a Luganda word describing “a sudden, uncontrollable urge to dance.”
In 2018, Uganda’s main tourism trade group named the festival the best overall tourism event of the year, repeating the award in 2019. Resident Advisor and FACT have named it one of the world’s best electronic festivals.
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