Speaker Anita Among says they wont allow Nyeye Nyege festival
Shortly after the Parliament of Uganda posted on Twitter that the ‘Nyege Nyege’ festival has been stopped, several people took to social media to criticize Parliament’s decision which many deemed as unfair.
Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday, Tororo Woman MP Hon Sarah Opendi said the event which is expected to happen at Itanda Falls, Jinja starting September 15-18 is a breeding ground for sexual immorality.
In unison, Anitah Among- Speaker of Parliament said, “We are talking about morality of this country; we are talking about our children. You are trying to promote tourism at the expense of our children? We are not going to allow this function to take part”.
In response, a one Patrick Salvado, a Ugandan comedian and actor posted on Twitter saying, “I think we are just looking for excuses to justify our poor parenting, by the time my underage child goes for Nyege Nyege, I have failed as a parent.. let’s stop this nonsense and start parenting”.
Defending the festival in Parliament, State minister for tourism, Martin Mugarra, said ‘Nyege Nyege’ is a hub of tourism, where over 8,000 foreign tourists had already booked tickets for the event that’s due in Jinja. Parliament, however, insists the event is immoral.
Commenting about the Parliament’s infamous decision, Canary Mugume an Investigative journalist and senior news anchor at NBS Tv commented on Twitter, “Usually when there’s an issue, Parliament refers the matter to a committee. In there, all stakeholders are listened to. About Nyege Nyege, the speaker made a ruling without listening to any of the stakeholders esp those that have invested resources in this event”.
The Parliamentary notice comes in after several partygoers from Uganda and other countries already made preparations in terms of ticket and accommodation bookings.
This is not the first time a Member of Parliament is moving to stop the festival after the late Ethics Minister Hon. Simon Lokodo’s failed attempt in 2018.
The ‘Nyege Nyege’ festival, an annual social event is Africa’s essential electronic music festival with over 200 shows internationally going all in this year with collectives from across the continent. It is scheduled to take place next week in Jinja.