City artists Abdul Kinyenya Muyingo, alias Abdanger, and Isaac Walugmbe, alias Milky, the coordinators of the annual Tuzinne festival, were reportedly detained by security operatives on the 7th of December at the Uganda National Cultural Center (UNCC) popularly known as the National Theatre, as they had gone to pick costumes and props after a lock horns with the security team.
At the event, Festival Director Oscar Ssenyonga was whisked away by an unknown person as drama unfolded.
One of the attendees who preferred not to be named in order to speak freely, told this website that police officers used tear gas to stop the Tuzinne Festival that was taking place at the National Theatre following allegations that the festival had a number of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) participants.
During the festival At around 7 p.m., police officers who were on duty at the National Theatre stormed the auditorium where a performance was taking place and demanded that the organizers stop featuring what the police described as LGBT behaviour.
Officers, according to the source claimed that they had been notified that the show was all about promoting homosexuality, which they said would not be allowed, claiming that a man cannot dress up like a woman (in a dress) and entertain people.
At around 9:30 p.m., several police officers again stormed the theatre, and this time they directed the organizers to suspend a fashion show on the catwalk that featured different styles, including men who were dressed like women.
The organizers again defied the police, which ordered the theatre officials to switch off power.
Oscar Ssenyonga, the director of the Tuzinne festival, didn’t deny the police’s accusations that he was promoting what the police claimed was pervasive behaviour. Instead, Ssenyonga directed the participants to go ahead with the show using their mobile phone torches.
Tuzinne was supposed to be a two-day event featuring both traditional as well as contemporary dances as well as symposia under the theme ‘The Safety of Our People’.
We have since tried in vain to get the police to comment on this evening’s events, as the relevant officers could not pick up our calls. It was reported that the organizers went hiding after being released by the security at the national theatre and our efforts to call Abdul Kinyenya Muyingo and Isaac Walugembe went futile.
But Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson Patrick Onyango earlier this week denied the force was targeting members of the LGBT community.
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