Jinja I Preparations are already underway in Jinja City for the 8th edition of the popular Nyege Nyege festival. Nyege Nyege has established itself as Africa’s premier music and arts festival, and the upcoming edition is expected to draw artists and fans from across the continent and beyond.
The exciting four-day festival will take place at new locations. It will take place from Thursday, November 9 to Sunday, November 12, 2023, in seven well-lit and furnished venues dubbed “Nyege Nyege Wonderland.”
The 50-acre venue includes the famous Source of the Nile Agriculture and Trade Show Grounds, Jinja Golf Course, and the Source Gardens, where top-tier artists such as Eddy Kenzo, Appas, Janzi Band, Carol Kasita, DJ Znobia, Greg and Rosa Pistola, among others, are expected.
According to Derrick Debru, co-founder of the Nyege Nyege Festival, celebrated Lira-based musician Morris Sirikinti Ekuka Ogwal-Adongo, known for his thumb piano skills (called okeme in Leb Lango), will have a rare opportunity to mingle with national and continental faces while demonstrating his rare feat.
Ekuka, 60, is a household name almost synonymous with rhythm, and his music contains sensitization messages on hygiene, sanitation, health, agriculture, education, and the environment, among other topics.
He also wrote songs about polio vaccination, HIV/AIDS, tax collection, Ebola, the COVID-19 pandemic, girl child education, and poverty alleviation, among other topics. Local leaders and the government used his songs to mobilize the wanainchi.
With over 30 years of experience in the music industry and extensive travel, including a performance in France, Ekuka’s life and village do not live up to the fame that surrounds him.
Aside from the fact that he is getting older, Ekuka’s standard of living is poor; there are no infrastructures in his hometown for residents to enjoy and be proud of because he is not earning from his talent.
According to Debru, the organization’s leader, the 8th edition of Nyege Nyege is not only a platform for people from various socio-cultural backgrounds to showcase their heritage, but it is also a rare opportunity for dozens of musicians and artists to rub shoulders with colleagues from other parts of the world.
Also read: Ugandans free to enjoy Nyege Nyege – government
“We have been extending some support for his treatment, and after this coming festival, Ekuka and other musicians and artists will walk away with some money,” he said.
Debru, who has a unique and rich cultural background consisting of a Belgian father, a Dutch mother, and a Burundian grandmother, says he is extremely passionate about music and the arts, which is why he is always eager to help emerging musicians.
Debru was born in Burundi and raised in Belgium until 2010, when he relocated to Uganda to teach at one of Kampala’s film schools.
His colleague Dilsizian, who is Greco-Armenian and studied ethnomusicology, moved to Uganda the same year.
He also co-founded Nyege Tapes, Hakunakulala Records Labels, and the Botiq Foundation, an artist incubation program in Kampala that trains and mentors musicians.
One of the priorities of the Nyege Music and Arts Festival is to find out how entertainment and arts can have a positive economic impact on the country by creating jobs and bringing money into certain communities.
Also read: Why Dr Ongom Morris is seeking mandates as chair Chamber of Commerce Lira branch
The maiden Nyege Nyege Festival was held in 2015 at the Nile Discovery Beach in Njeru Municipality, Buikwe district. That event took the nation by storm –being the first of its kind in the country’s history.
Last year, it was held at the doors of Itanda Falls, Butagaya sub-cunty in Jinja district, some kilometres away from the Jinja City centre which has all the social amenities.
What is Nyege Nyege
The word Nyege Nyege is derived from a Luganda word Kinyegenyege which means a powerful and irresistible urge to dance to the tune of a sweet melody.
Like they say one must go beyond the dictionary meaning because a word can have several meanings depending on the context in which it is used, Nyege Nyege also bears a sexual connotation in some other areas including neighbouring Kenya.
The festival was founded in Kampala by expats Arlen Dilsizan and Derrick Debru in 2013.
Debru, flanked by the vending Manager Cathy Amedo, says artists affiliated with Nyege Nyege have toured many parts of the world including Europe and Asia where they played festivals including CTM and unsound.
On concerns by critics that the festival is a showcase of nudity and immorality, Debru is quick to laugh it off and instead urges Ugandans to learn to co-exist and appreciate other people’s ways of life.
He says the people who join the festival do so simply to enjoy themselves and have fun within the legal framework while at the same time seeking new opportunities for friends and businesses.
Debru also dismisses as “unfounded” allegations that revellers who attend the festival engage in open and lewd sexual encounters, and consumption of illicit substances, saying security including intelligence would have advised the government against holding it.
Reports emerging say nearly all the hotels, guest houses and lodges in and around Jinja City have already been booked while other stakeholders including those in the transport sectors like commuter taxis, special hire vehicles and boda boda motorists are servicing their machines to reap dividends from the annual event.
Why Jinja City this year
Debru explains that the relocation followed numerous requests and calls from different stakeholders chiefly from the Jinja City leadership headed by Mayor Alton Peter Kasolo Okocha, who is literally a party animal known even to the babies.
With Jinja standing out as both a tourist and industrial city, Debru says the Busoga Kingdom leadership is also part of the exciting festival.
The organisers are expecting about 20,000 people from Uganda and beyond who have confirmed their participation in this year’s edition to be held at the Gold Course grounds overlooking the strategic Source of the Nile.
“…Ugandans from all parts of the country are on standby, we have a lot of people from neighbouring countries like Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania while others are from Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa as well as Nigeria and Ghana…,” he reveals.
According to Catherine Amedo, they have already hit 90%bookings by different companies and individuals who have secured space to do business during the exciting period.
“…our target is 100 vendors who have confirmed and so about only 20 slots are remaining which I urged those interested to hurry up because we are after quality to make the day memorable and enjoyable…,” Amedo adds.
Jinja City Council Speaker Bernard Mbayo has rallied residents to take advantage of the festival to ensure they benefit from the multiplier effects by offering quality services and goods.
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