Ugandan music promoters will now need clearance to operate

This was announced on 13 March by the National Promoters Association (NPA), which said the decision was reached in order to professionalise the sector.

Speaking on behalf of the NPA, veteran Ugandan musician and music promoter Halima Namakula said the new move also sought to streamline the Ugandan music industry.

“We have seen so many people complaining that artists fail to turn up for performances yet they have been paid and in the process property worth millions has been destroyed, so we have decided that this is the best way to have the industry organised,” Daily Monitor quoted Namakula as saying.

The NPA said it wanted promoters to comply with the new guidelines irrespective of the associations they were affiliated with. It added that promoters would be registered from their regional offices across the country while those operating in Kampala would be registered at the NPA’s Makindye division office.

The registration is mandatory and the authorities will only recognise promoters registered by the NPA, as it is the only association that will work with the police on clearing events.

The NPA is a non-profit organisation and a company limited by guarantee. Its guarantors are music and events promoters operating legally in Uganda, with well-known promoter Abbey Musinguzi as its current president.

Musinguzi was charged on 3 January with the deaths of 10 people during a crush at a New Year’s Eve concert in the capital Kampala. The authorities said the stampede occurred after hundreds of people who were attending the concert at Freedom City Mall were forced to use one exit point.