Inzu ya Masaaba disowns Infamous Elgon Festival organizers, says ‘nudity isn’t part of their culture’

MBALE, UGANDA: Cultural leaders in the Bugisu subregion through their umbrella body “Inzu ya Masaba have distanced themselves from the now-infamous Elgon festival which showcased half-naked teenage girls during the cultural gala last weekend.

The event which has since attracted public criticism and call for the arrest of its organizers portrayed young girls with protruding breasts and skimpy dresses in what they described as promoting the Bugisu culture.

However, in a press release statement dated June 17th, The Inzuu ya Masaaba secretary-general, Mr Geoffrey Wilson Wepondi strongly dispelled the attachments of the event to their culture saying showing women naked is not a cultural activity of Bamasaaba and that, such an activity has no cultural name.

“This is to inform all Bamasaba community in Uganda and abroad and all the national and international community that the purported cultural activity that was organised by the Elgon cultural festival that showed young girls naked in Mbale City on June 11 2022 was not organised by Inzu ya Masaba cultural institution and it’s highly regrettable,” Mr. Wepondi said.

He further noted that Elgon cultural festival is not an associate of Inzu ya Masaaba cultural institution whether by MoU or implications.

“Elgon Cultural Festival is not an associate of Inzu ya Masaaba Cultural Institution whether by MOU or implication,” he said, before warning the organizers never to hold such a disgraceful activity again in Masaba land disguising it as a cultural activity.

Mr Eric Mukhwana, the communications officer of the institution, said it was unfortunate that the office of the Resident City Commission (RCC), Mbale City headed by Mr Ahamad Washaki allowed the festival to go on with due diligence.

“The institution is the custodian of culture but we were not involved. What happened was an embarrassment to the culture of the Bamasaaba community,” he said.

Ahamada Washaki, the Mbale City Resident Commissioner says that while security okayed the festival after the organizers indicated that they were showcasing the culture of the Bamasaba, they were not aware that the festival would turn into a nude show.

“We were not aware that the festival would turn into a nude show,” he said, adding that security has summoned the organisers of the event to explain how such events unfolded in the city.

Priscila Khainza Mungoma, the proprietor of Masaba tourism initiative and one of the organizers of the festival, said that this is the third edition of the festival and even in the previous two editions, women moved with their breasts out naked but there was no uproar as it happened this time.

She explained that the aim of the festival was to showcase the Bamasaba culture which is dying but also to engage the neighboring cultures to understand how they affect the Bamasaba culture. She however says that she was surprised that the event was blown out of proportion and how people sexualized the dress code.

The development comes at a time when the state minister for Gender Ms. Peace Mutuuzo Regiz on Friday directed the police to institute an inquiry into the matter and arrest the organizers of the event to explain the motive behind such an activity.