Recently, singers Winnie Nwagi and Sheebah Karungi were recorded at school concerts, performing for students while indecently dressed. Concerned parties criticized the acts saying they perpetuate immorality among children.
The videos that wildly circulated online showed Winnie Nwagi dancing erotically with St. Mary Kisubi (SMACK) teenage boys, while Sheebah was filmed performing in a mini-dress at SEETA High School. The videos sparked public outrage, consequently attracting government attention.
To eradicate similar shows, the Ministry of Education and Sports temporarily banned musical performances in a circular addressed to public and private schools until guidelines to regulate the practice are established.
Speaking about the development of The Fatboy Show, the Uganda Musicians Association (UMA) President Cindy Sanyu said singers have a social responsibility to the public, including protecting children against acts that intensify moral degeneration.
“There is a place for the way Winnie Nwagi dressed. At Lugogo Cricket Oval, when performing at Azawi’s concert in the late night hours, it wasn’t a kid's show. Her choice of short unzipped denim was her creativity. However, it would be unacceptable if she dressed the same way for a school performance,” said Cindy.
She continued, “I'm glad that Sheebah raised the awareness and attracted public attention because people never cared when our children were being influenced. My daughter is 10 years old and as a parent, I'm worried that a school is no longer a safe place for her anymore.”
She noted that the association is yet to hold a meeting with the Ministry of Education to discuss the details. “The Ministry is right about establishing regulations. However, there is a need to specify what is to be banned because you can’t ban all artists from performing because of one that was indecently dressed. Musicians perform all the time in schools. And most times, they are decent.”
Pastor Ssempa, the other participant on the show said the indecent dressing, no matter the performance, is diminishing the reputation of musicians because it makes them no different from those dancing in strip clubs or in gentlemen's lounges.
“There are certain expectations we want to see in our industry. We should separate them but we are getting so ghetto and it is degrading the music industry. We need a celebrity Sunday where we (the moralists) could do something with UMA because if you ask who provides moral renewal programs to our most influential leaders and musicians, there’s none,” Pastor Sempa advised.
The Fatboy show is hosted by James Onen aka Fatboy, Olive, and Sarah every weekday from 6 am to 10 am on RX Radio.