Prime Minister Nabbanja Clears Nyege Nyege Festival

Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja has cleared Nyege Nyege festival to take place in Jinja city as earlier planned.

The festival which is scheduled for Thursday, 15th September 2022 for three days at the Source of the Nile in Jinja district, was first held in 2013.

Parliament on Tuesday directed for the cancellation of the controversial festival over concerns of immorality.

Presenting a matter of national importance, the district Woman MP for Tororo, Hon. Sarah Opendi, said the event which goes on both day and night for three days breeds immorality including recruitment and promotion of homosexuality.

On Wednesday morning, Prime Minister Nabbanja chaired a meeting to determine the fate of the controversial annual Nyege Nyege festival.

She later endorsed the festival saying it will take place but with strict guidelines.

Speaking to the press at the Office of the Prime Minister in Kampala, Nabbanja said the event must go on as planned since many foreign guests had already paid for tickets.

Hon. Martin Mugarra, the Minister of State for Tourism, said Nyege Nyege is a huge tourism opportunity that has so far attracted over 8,000 tourists flying into Uganda who already bought entry tickets and booked hotels.

“As we speak now, around 8,000 foreigners have already paid tickets and have booked to come and sleep in this country,” he said.

Nabbanja says the government is going to engage Speaker of Parliament, Anitah Among, on the matter.

Among had insisted that the country should not be sold in the name of tourism.

UPDATE : The prime minister, Robinah Nabbanja, in a meeting today, endorsed the Nyegenyege festival, which is scheduled for September 15th, saying it will take place but with strict guidelines.. #SparkUpdates pic.twitter.com/UHmQTEJISF

— SPARK TV (@sparktvuganda) September 7, 2022