Activist petitions court to ban Fik Fameica’s ‘Property’ song

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Prasidia Nagasha, a female activist has petitioned the High Court Civil Division to ban a song titled ‘Property’ by local music artist Fik Fameica.

The other respondents to the suit are Martin Musoke alias Artin Pro, the producer of the song and Uganda Communications Commission-UCC.

Through her lawyers of New Mark Advocates, Nagasha contends that Fameica and Artin Pro produced the contested song that promotes the culture of belittling and undermining women and girls in society in 2018.

She explains that while listening to the song, she discovered that it has lyrics like “My woman is my property” my woman is my chapatti, my yogurt and my bugatti among other references.

Nagasha says that the song equates women and girls to property worth purchasing and owning.

According to Nagasha, the song undermines women and girls and sends a negative message to the public about the status and capacity of women in society.

“Fameica and Artin Pro being men have created and promoted wrong ideas that those women and girls should be owned like property by men”, reads the document in part.

She also argues that the song creates and revives the negative norms, customs, cultures, beliefs, perceptions and practices in the society against women and girls as well as cultural biases that are aimed at pulling down women and girls.

“The song underscored the achievements attained through affirmative actions and other programs by government to improve the status of women and girls in the society” the petition reads.

She wants court to issue a permanent order banning the song from being played and listened to in Uganda. She also wants court to compel both the artist and producer to apologize to women in Uganda in all newspapers of wide readership, television, radio and YouTube.

Nagasha also wants court to declare that Uganda Communications Commission failed in its duty of protecting Ugandans and consumers of media services from harmful content like the one allegedly promoted by Fameica in his song.

The matter will come up for hearing before Justice Musa Ssekaana, the Deputy Head of High Court Civil Division. URN tried to contact Fameica over the petition. An assistant who picked his phone said he needs time to consult on the matter.

This is not the first time someone is complaining about this song.

In 2019, a section of youths under Plan International Uganda petitioned the Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga and the Minister for Information, Communications, Technology and National Guidance asking them to ban the song.

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URN