The Nyege Nyege Kenyan Edition organisers have come out to clear the air and set the record straight on the confusion surrounding the upcoming Kenyan leg of the famous festival.
Nyege Nyege, a renowned arts and music festival with Ugandan roots, trended early last month after the Kenyan organisers took to Twitter to distance themselves from their Kampala counterparts.
The statement sparked a lengthy online debate in which Kenyans and Ugandans argued over the authenticity of the Kenyan festival and the legality of its name.
The Kenyan Nyege Nyege Festival’s head of public relations, Mariita Mairura, told members of the press that the event is still going on and that, despite earlier confusion, the Kenyan team is not affiliated with the Ugandan team.
“After we made our earlier statement, there was a lot of confusion regarding the event’s name. We wish to state that we are still on and that we reached an agreement with the Ugandan team who gave us their blessings and have allowed us to go ahead with our version, ” he said.
While acknowledging the name’s similarities, Mariita stated that the team chose the name ‘Nyege Nyege’ in the East African spirit of bringing countries together and that, unlike the Ugandan version, the Kenyan version would avoid negative publicity, raunchiness, and runaway immorality.
“Our theme is – music and mental wellness. We want to incorporate art, East African culture and cuisine and fuse it with mental wellness. We’ve also introduced East African fashion and wish to use the event to showcase the better side of each of our countries and show young people that they can have fun without excessive drinking and sexual debauchery, ” he said.
The organisers also took the time to explain that, while the name ‘Nyege Nyege’ may have negative connotations in some parts of Uganda, they were essentially using the festival’s brand name to maintain the East African vibe rather than to attract crowds by riding on the already-popular name.
The event, which will take place from September 1st to 3rd at the expansive Savannah Park Grounds in Naivasha, will feature exhilarating performances from some of East Africa’s biggest names in music.
“We have Kenyan superstars as well as big names from Congo, Uganda, South Sudan and Tanzania,” Mariita said.
Ugandan and South Sudan teams also made a brief appearance, as if to give credence to the event and to shore up support.
“As the South Sudanese, we’re excited to be part of the Kenyan team behind Nyege Nyege and wish to state that we’re fully behind the people behind it and can’t wait to bring all our people and communities together,” Bhakita Deng said.
