Ugandan Festival ‘Nyege Nyege’ Back On

The Ugandan Government has announced that the famous Nyege Nyege festival will go on as planned but under strict guidelines.

This comes a day after it was canceled on the grounds of morality.

Ugandan Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja uncancelled it yesterday after a meeting with various leaders and stakeholders.

“The event will go on but under strict guidelines. It attracts thousands of foreign tourists; we can’t miss out on this opportunity at a time when the country is recovering from the effects of Covid-19,” she said.

State Minister for Tourism Martin Mugarra, disclosed that over 8,000 tourists had already booked tickets for the event.

The Ugandan Parliament got into a heated debate on Tuesday after some legislators called for the event to be canceled.

Tororo MP Sarah Opendi said that Nyege Nyege goes against the moral fabric of the nation and that it is a breeding ground for homosexuality.

Opendi was backed by Bugabula South MP, Maurice Kibalya, who said he had once attended the festival and it was “totally immoral”.

“I have witnessed Nyege Nyege; it’s totally immoral. We can’t sacrifice the morals of Ugandans because of tickets that have been sold. If the minister wants let him take it to his district.” he said. 

The parliament then directed the ministries of Tourism and Ethics to ban the event, after Speaker Anita Among said the event would be detrimental to children in the long term.

“We are talking about the morality of this country. We are talking about our children. Are you trying to promote tourism at the expense of our children? We are not going to allow this function to take place.” she said.

Nevertheless, the show will go on and is set to start on September 15 to September 18 2022 in Jinja District, on the shore of the River Nile.

According to organizers, this year’s edition will focus on visual art installations and plenty of other new activities such as camping, rafting, and sunset cruises.