ONGWEDIVA – Facebook pictures of male visitors to the annual Olufuko Festival posing with bare-breasted girls and some men appearing to be fondling the young girls, have prompted an investigation by the Outapi Town Council.
The council’s chief executive officer Ananias Nashilongo said while the council has not received an official report of inappropriate contact with Olufuko brides, the council would conduct a post-mortem of the event, including an investigation of such claims.
Nashilongo says there were, as usual, strict measures confining the brides to the homestead and preventing them from open or unsupervised interaction with visitors to the festival.
“But this year the girls were too open compared to the previous year. Maybe it was because they were many. The previous year’s participants were a bit shy. But we are truly not aware of such claims,” said Nashilongo.
The pictures on social networks caused an uproar from certain quarters of the public who referred to the photographs as humiliating to the girls and morally wrong.
“Please someone explain to me this, culture also? squeezing of somebody’s breast? God heal our Leaders to see wats good and bad…[sic]” reads one of the comments by a person who also posted a picture on Facebook of those believed to be the perpetrators of the unruly behaviour “And I expected the Olufuko bride ‘trainer’ to have taught these youngsters about their rights … touching brides breasts is totally unbecoming and must be condemned!” reads another comment.
Nashilongo said previously the town council barred men from entering the homestead where the girls stay during Olufuko, but many complained they wanted to see and be near the brides.
Nashilongo maintained that unlike in the olden days, the modern Olufuko does not aim at exposing the girls to marriage or other sexual activities as they are schoolgirls who are expected to go back to school and finish their education.
“The governor [Sophia Shaningwa] made it clear that we will not allow traditional practices that do not correspond with or are in conflict with the modern times in Olufuko. In the olden days, there were no schools.
Girls were expected to get married straight from Olufuko, but this time around the girls have responsibilities and commitments, they are expected to go back to school and finish their education,” said Nashilongo.