Uganda’s showbiz is never out of controversy. If it’s not musicians fighting over who is bigger, or over who has stolen another’s song then it would have to be about a musician’s nudes leaking.
But that has been in the previous years. This year, however, the controversy is over the sale of the Uganda National Cultural Center popularly known as the National Theater.
The news of the sale-off of the historical building to a private developer has seen artistes unite for the first time. They are against the giveaway of the theater to a private developer. Among those very vocal about the giveaway of the theater is President Yoweri Museveni die-hard fan, Anne Kansiime. The other is Phillip Luswata, who has been acting at the theater for over 20 years.
Protesting over the sale of theater landed him in jail last week, though he was later released.
The latest artiste to join the fight against the giveaway is the ‘Ghetto President’, Bobi Wine, who met his wife Barbie Kyagulanyi at the theater, where both had gone to act.
“To our Minister of Tourism Hon. Godfrey Kiwanda, arts and culture are a much more effective way of promoting our country’s tourism sector rather than ‘Rolex’ because Chapati is Indian bread and eggs are not exclusively Ugandan, In my opinion the art of rolling them together wouldn’t be reason for any tourist to come and see,” he writes.
“Preserve the Uganda National Cultural Centre #NationalTheatre and you will see more of this or better still, promote arts and culture at all levels.”
Despite the protests, Janat Mukwaya, the Minister for Gender Labour and Social Development said last week that the government is going to continue with its plan to develop the Uganda National Cultural Centre commonly known as the National Theatre.
The ministry recently unveiled blue prints of a 22 storage building to be built before the 3rd edition of the East African Community Arts and Culture Festival also known as the JAMAFEST that is scheduled to be held in Uganda come 2017. The building is supposed to sit on the National Theatre land which the artists disagree with saying it’s a fraud staged by government.
The National Theater is among the buildings in Uganda listed by UNESCO. UNESCO advocates for the preservation of all buildings that were built before 1969.
