Uganda’s Nyege Nyege festival has been cleared to hold on the banks of the Nile River, despite moves by members of parliament to ban it for “promoting gays” in Uganda.
Parliamentarians raised concerns about the festival and its impact on “sexual immorality” and planned to halt the event. However, Ugandan Prime Minister Robina Nabbanja says the four-day festival will now take place next week but under “strict guidelines”.
Nabbanja made this statement at a meeting of stakeholders, including the organisers: “The event (Nyege Nyege) 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“.
The 2022 Nyege Nyege will be the first event after a three-year break due to the pandemic.
Nyege Nyege festival is one of East Africa’s most popular music festivals. In Luganda, Uganda’s official language, ‘Nyege Nyege’ can be translated to mean urge, and can also mean horny in Swahili.