Uganda’s well-known Nyege Nyege music festival will proceed as scheduled after organizers reached an agreement with the government to enforce stringent rules, it has been announced. The seventh edition of the annual music festival had been canceled following an uproar by Ugandan parliamentarians who criticized it for encouraging immorality. Uganda Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja gave the festival a go-ahead on Wednesday.
The festival scheduled from 15th to 18th September 2022, is moved from the accessible Kampala city to Itanda Falls in Jinja, approximately 105Km east of Kampala. More than 8000 people were expected to attend before the changes.
Some MPs are, however, incensed by the government’s decision to approve the event with one senator reportedly questioning the ability of the government to address new health issues. The senator gave an example of the global outbreak of monkeypox, which he claimed to primarily affect homosexual males.
This is not the first time the jamboree has faced a ban on the grounds of morality. In 2018, Nyenge Nyenge was prohibited and later reinstated after backlash.
Nyege Nyege music festival is considered Uganda’s most anticipated event on the annual social calendar and has grown to be the center of electronic music in East Africa since its founding in 2013, platforming underground artists from across the continent.
The carnival is a popular destination for music aficionados in the area and beyond, attracting revelers from all walks of life. But critics in the government claimed it served as a breeding ground for what they considered sexual immorality, including homosexuality.
