The much-hyped Nyege Nyege Festival lies in doubt even as organisers are planning for the 2022 edition after a three year hiatus.
Reports from Uganda intimate that the country’s Parliament has ordered the Ministry of Tourism and Ethics and Integrity to stop, rather ban Nyege Nyege Festival over morality concerns.
According to MBU, the 2022 Nyege Nyege Festival was scheduled to be held at the Itanda Falls, Jinja starting from the September 15, to September 18.
The latest development was set into motion by Tororo Woman MP Hon Sarah Opendi during a parliamentary seating on Tuesday, September 6, afternoon.
Hon Sarah Opendi said that the annual event “is a breeding ground for sexual immorality.” hence the need to stop it.
Her submission was, however, deflected by the Minister of State for Tourism Hon Martin Mugarra who noted that the Nyege Nyege Festival is “a hub of tourism” with over 8,000 foreign tourists having already booked tickets for the event.
MP Sarah Opendi’s submission was luckily backed by the Speaker of Parliament Hon. Anita Among who held that the promotion of Tourism should not happen at the expense of children’s morals.
“We are talking about the 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,” Hon. Anitah Among said.
The Kenya Times understands this is not the first time a Member of Parliament is moving to stop the festival.
In 2018, the late Ethics Minister Hon. Simon Lokodo’s attempted to have Nyege Nyege Festival banned but failed.
