The festival, which promotes electronic dance music and was established by promoters Arlen Dilsizian and Derek Debru, was initially created to meet the demand among young Ugandans for all-night dance partying.

In Luganda, the phrase “Nyege Nyege” is interpreted as an 'irresistible urge to dance.'

Other definitions have said thus: “an intensive feeling for the urgency in need for intimacy, closure and physical exploration".

First staged in 2015, the globally touted 'Nyege Nyege Festival' is a four-day exhilarating dance party and a major tourism drawcard that caters to lovers of electronic dance music, African culture, cuisine and lifestyle.

Last year, Over 300 DJs and performers, drawn from all over Africa and the world, participated, superbly bringing down the roof across seven magnificent stages with over 10,000 frenzied revellers partying themselves lame.

The Festival's popularity has become so wildly huge that it caught the attention of the Ugandan Parliament which sought to ban it altogether.

Ugandan parliamentarians, religious and opinion leaders, human rights activists and some high-level government officials publicly questioned the integrity of the event believing it to be a breeding ground for sexual immorality. 

Anita Among, the Speaker of Parliament in Uganda, eventually declared it banned just over a week before it was to be held.

And then all hell broke loose - protests happened, Twitter was in shambles, hurried negotiations were initiated and, in less than 24 hours, and after an intervention by the Prime Minister, government authorities acquiesced.

Four years before that, in 2018, the Nyege Nyege Festival was also cancelled by Uganda’s Ethics and Integrity Minister on 'moral grounds'. It was later cleared to continue.

Last year, as the festival ballooned, a new, larger location had to be sourced - crowds now converged at the banks of the Nile River, at Itanda Falls.

Nyege Nyege Festival has, over the years, received glowing tributes from leading global entertainment and culture websites including Mix Mag, Dazed, Okay Africa and Travel Noire.

"Nyege Nyege is a utopic, temporary autonomous zone!" the Pan African Magazine perfectly said.

As the festival's popularity ricocheted across the world, neighbouring Kenya was silently getting inspired and, as all things go, something had to be done.

Early Thursday morning, a Twitter handle @NyegeNyegeKE dropped a surprise, if not diabolically bewildering, statement attempting to 'distance' itself from the original Ugandan Festival.

"We have noticed potential confusion due to the similarity in names between Nyege Nyege Kenyan Edition and Nyege Nyege Festival Uganda. We want to emphasize the Nyege Nyege Kenyan Edition is an independent event and has no affiliation with Nyege Nyege Festival Uganda,” the statement read in part.

It was the sort of flagrant audacity that shocks to the core.

Hundreds of Kenyans soon jammed the comment section, blasting the Nyege Nyege Kenyan Edition organizers for their obvious heedlessness and blatant robbery of concept.

After many wildfires, the Nyege Nyege Festival's official Twitter page spoke up too, haranguing the Kenyan version and sneaking in a few subliminal attacks.

"Nyege Nyege Festival wants to clarify any misconceptions and detach itself from any imitations that may be circulating. This statement is to further express that the Nyege Nyege Festival has nothing to do with the so-called “Nyege Nyege Kenyan Edition, " the statement read.

"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery but it is important to recognize that there exists only one true Nyege Nyege Festival which started in Uganda. As the brand gains success and recognition, numerous others may attempt to associate themselves with it."

While firmly putting their foot on the ground, the Ugandans moved to assert authority and stamp out third-rate replicas, adding," stay vigilant against counterfeit sources and unauthorized information!"

Last year, over 4,000 Kenyans crossed over to Uganda to attend the 2022 Nyege Nyege Festival edition.

And this didn't escape the eye of the organisers.

"We would also like to express our heartfelt gratitude to the incredible Kenyan audience and artists that have consistently supported previous editions of Nyege Nyege," they wrote. "Your enthusiasm and passion for music and culture have contributed significantly to the success of our festival."

In an absolute show of brazenness, the Kenyan version of Nyege Nyege has even cobbled up a poster, which they've also shared on their Twitter page, asking, "Which Nyege Nyege Fest do you think will be lit?"

The poster features two boxers caught up in the ring - one is Kenya, the other, is Uganda.

Already, a Kenyan Nyege Nyege Festival, to be held in Naivasha, is said to be in the works.

While speaking about imitation, American filmmaker Jim Jarmusch once said: "Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination."

"And don’t bother concealing your thievery - celebrate it if you feel like it."

We are not sure if the Kenyan Nyege Nyege team are subscribers of Jim Jarmusch's unconventional wisdom, but we sure do hope they can find the sarcasm in his words