Prime Minister Nabbanja clears Nyege Nyege festival

The ministers that attended the meeting were from the ministries of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities; Internal Affairs; Gender, Labour and Social Development; ICT and National Guidance, Ethics and Integrity.

Julius Mucunguzi, the head of communications at the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) told this reporter via phone that the meeting was aimed at discussing "how best" the issue of the Nyege Nyege Festival can be handled.

The prime minister met the ministers at 8:30am at OPM.

"I am informed that the above concert has been taking place annually in Jinja District. As you may have noted, there has been public concern over the forthcoming concert and it has generated serious debate in Parliament," reads a September 6 letter inviting the minister.

Tororo Woman MP Sarah Opendi Pulse

"This is, therefore, to invite you for a meeting on Wednesday 7th September 2022 at the Office of the Prime Minister, First Floor Boardroom starting at 8:30 a.m. to discuss the above matter."

Speaker of Parliament Anita Among said Tuesday that lawmakers are going to block the annual festival which is slated for September 15-18 at Itanda Falls in Jinja.

The speaker, who was backed by a number of other MPs, said the festival promotes immorality and the country can’t promote tourism at the expense of children.

Woman MP Karenga District and ethics minister Rose Lilly Akello said: "It is an event which promotes immorality, and this immorality is something which is not wanted in our country…. They do a lot of immoral activities there .”

NyegeNyege festival Pulse

Tororo Woman MP Sarah Opendi said the event had become a breeding ground for sexual immorality.

“In the last Nyege Nyege, we all saw what happened; people having sex in the open, drinking themselves silly and people have been told this event will go on both day and night,” Opendi said.

“It is going to attract all kinds of people from the world who are going to bring non-African acts…While it is ok to enjoy, we have another bigger challenge, we are having our young children being recruited into the LGBTI community.”

This is not the first time the government has tried to block the event from happening.

In 2018, then ethics minister Simon Lokodo blocked the event, but he later yielded, saying someone above him had okayed the event to happen.

The event, which draws thousands of people, is sponsored by most of the biggest companies in the country and offers multiple business opportunities because it runs for four days and it is a high-end event.

According to a statement issued by Talent Africa, Nabbanja will officiate the event.

Talent Africa Chief Executive Aly Alibhai has promised to work with relevant authorities to ensure the smooth running of the event. The festival was last organised in 2019. The hiatus was due to Covid-19 pandemic.