Ugandan singer faces 10 years in jail for risqué pop video

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/21/ugandan-jemimah-kansiime-video-anti-pornography

Version 0 of 1.

Conservative politicians in Uganda say that a music video by singer Jemimah Kansiime has broken the country’s tough new anti-pornography laws.

The 21-year-old has already spent five weeks in jail for appearing in a foam-covered bikini in the video, promoting her single, Ensolo Yange.

Under the new law, which took effect in February, Kansiime faces up to 10 years in jail if found guilty of “wilfully and unlawfully producing, trafficking, importing, selling and abetting pornography”.

But critics say the ruling is part of a growing anti-liberal movement that includes tough laws against homosexuals in a country where religiously-driven conservatism appears to be on the rise.

Human Rights Watch argue that the new law so loosely defines pornography that it has encouraged public attacks on women wearing skimpy clothing, while Amnesty International has called for it to be repealed.

‘Sex sells’

“I was aware that there are some sections of society that are conservative,” said Kansiime, but she never dreamt her new video – played over 190,000 times on YouTube – was breaking the law.

One thing she says she learnt from her idols – including Rihanna and Nicki Minaj – is that sex sells.

“I was just experimenting to see if I put on a short dress, will the audience like it?” said the singer.

She was arrested in November along with her then manager, Didi Muchwa Mugisha.

Mugisha pleaded guilty and was fined 200, 000 Ugandan shillings (£43), but Kansiime pleaded not guilty, and was detained for five weeks before raising money for bail.

“My rights have been trampled upon, my freedom of expression has been trampled upon,” she said at her home in Kampala.

Kansiime’s lawyer, Isaac Semakadde, argues the case is a test for the right of Ugandan performers to “express themselves”.

“That right to erotic entertainment, there has to be a space for it in an open and free society,” hesaid, arguing divisions must be made between clearly criminal offences and entertainment.

“To ban all forms of pornography, all forms of nudity, is outrageous,” he said.

‘Obscene and vulgar’

Kansiime was tracked down and arrested after Uganda’s ethics minister Simon Lokodo was apparently shocked by the video.

He described Kansiime’s videos as “very obscene and vulgar”, and warned of further arrests.

Under his continued crackdown on pornography, Lokodo has this year ordered police to arrest men who procure prostitutes, and described a popular local television dating show as prostitution.

Local media reported that he also confronted Uganda’s youngest MP when she walked into parliament in a short skirt.

The law has also become known as the “mini skirt ban” after some Ugandans misinterpreted the ruling and targeted people they considered to be improperly dressed, in some cases stripping women in the street.

Semakadde accuses the government of ignoring more pressing issues.

“The decadence in society does not start and stop with prostitution,” he said. “There’s corruption – but they have no answers to that, so they go for the most vulnerable.”

Related: Confusion over Uganda's 'miniskirt ban' leads to public attacks on women

Kansiime is due in court later this month. But Semakadde said he will request the case is halted while the constitutional court deals with a separate petition brought by activists against the law, arguing it is “over broad and vague”.

As she awaits her next court appearance, Kansiime insisted that she had the right to film “whatever I want”, but conceded she may need to cater for more conservative tastes if she is to continue to make a living from her music.

“I have to do something that people like, I have not benefitted from that video,” she admitted.