The Nyege Nyege festival delivered on its promise: Days and nights of partying and merrymaking. East African biggest party came to a close on Sunday 18th September after three days of revelling.
Party-lovers from all over the world have trooped to Uganda to attend the percussion-filled fest with over 300 artists drawn from across the world.
The event was back after a three-year break prompted by the pandemic. Nyege Nyege 2022 exceeded expectations attracting over 300 artistes from all over the world showcasing culture, heritage, food and drink.
The event is back after a three-year break prompted by the pandemic.
The event almost came off the rails when a section of’ holier than thou ‘lawmakers made a futile move to ban this year’s event alleging immorality, homosexuality and nudity only for them to be over turned by the Prime Minister (the executive) , honorable Robinah Nabanja who stated that Ugandans should be allowed to celebrate after being in lockdown for three years, albeit under stipulated guidelines by the Ministry of Ethics and Integrity. .
The First Deputy Prime Minister of Uganda and Minister for East African Community Affairs honorable Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga who happens to be the previous Speaker of Parliament hailing from the Busoga region where the event was held was a big crowd puller at the event in a big show of endorsement by government to the embarrassment of the so called ‘moralist ‘lawmakers.
“Nyege Nyege was started in 2015 in Uganda, we had five physical editions here in Jinja, then we had two years hiatus due to Covid and now we resorted to a new location, about five times the size of the former location. Nyege Nyege is now an institution, you know, in terms of representing African music and culture,” said Arlen Dilsizian, cofounder and Nyege Nyege festival organizer.
Taking place on the banks of the river Nile in eastern Uganda, this year’s edition was a magnet for over 12,000 revellers including 1,500 Kenyans and 500 Rwandsns from within the region , ‘Africa’s Glastonbury quipped a British reveller’.
The east African country is also using the event to market its tourism.
The festival was a success in terms of organisation and participation. It is a bullet train in promoting domestic tourism as well as attracting tourists from around the World.
The source of the river Nile has been a subject of mystery since Alexandrian Astronomer Claudius Ptolemy described the snow capped Ruwenzoris Mountains of the Moon as the source of the Nile in his writings in 300 BC. The mystery was unravelled when explorer John Hanning Speke reached the source of the Nile on 3rd August , 1858 under the commissioning of the Royal Geographic Society.
The debate on his discovery continued until ,at least for a while it was laid to rest by Henry Morton Stanley who circumvented Lake Victoria between 1874 and 1877. It still rages on just as the mystery of the Nile has since biblical times , Nyege Nyege is just the latest chapter.