Govt bans critical play
Tuesday, 30 October 2012 23:18
Media Council to
review ‘The State of the Nation’ drama
The Media Council has banned a play, ‘The State of the Nation Kku Girikiti’,
whose portrayal whips up sentiments of an insurrection against a regime that
has failed to honour a social contract with its citizens.
In the Luganda vocabulary, girikiti is a tree
that is of no value, where carcasses of dogs are usually dumped. The play,
staged by Afri-Baka, a union between Afri Talent and Bakayimbira Dramactors,
has been showing at the National Theatre since October 19. It was intended to
coincide with the jubilee celebrations to mark 50 years of Uganda’s self-governance.
In the drama, interspersed with veiled barbs and
jocular scenes, characters caricature corrupt regime cohorts who favour their
relatives and cronies. With scenes on nepotism, corruption and intolerance, the
play attacks families that want to turn a state into a dynasty, with army
generals speaking one language yet their contribution to the cause was minimal.
Several opposition politicians attended the
opening show on October 19, which attracted a packed auditorium. Notable among
these was FDC president Dr Kizza Besigye, whose speech was an extension of the
hilarious play. He gave the outfit Shs 2m.
Others included: MPs Joseph Gonzaga Ssewungu (Kalungu
West), who contributed Shs 500,000 for the play to be taken to Kalungu; and
Latif Ssebaggala (Kawempe North); Kawempe mayor Mubarak Munyagwa, who
contributed Shs 400,000; and Kampala
deputy lord mayor, Sulaiman Kidandala.
The Media Council communicated the ban in a
letter dated October 29 and signed by Pius Mwinganisa, the Council secretary.
It was addressed to Benon Kibuuka, one of the play’s directors and copied to
the ministers of Information and Internal Affairs, and the Inspector General of
Police.
“Pursuant to section 9(1) (e) and 9(2) of the
Press and Journalists Act, the Media Council hereby directs that you
immediately avail to the Council a copy of the script and synopsis of your
intended stage play, ‘The State of the Nation Kku Girikiti’ by the 31 Oct
2012,” it read.
“Pending review by the [Media] Council, we
further direct that you suspend the play until conclusion of the review and
thereafter officially communicate to you the position of the Council regarding
the suitability of this play for public consumption.”
