Parents Uganda, whose children attend St James Secondary School in Jinja Town, have asked the local authorities to close a nightclub that was recently opened in the vicinity.
They accuse the management of D’Fantasy Lounge of always playing loud music even during the day, which as a result disrupts learning at the school.
Mr Daniel Butamanya, the school’s Parents Teachers Association (PTA) chairperson, said the club should be closed over noise pollution.
“The students can’t concentrate because the club is in the proximity of the girls’ hostel,’’ Mr Butamanya, who is also the assistant chief administrative officer of Jinja District, said.
Ms Jacqueline Kalule Kuteesa, the school head teacher, said the club “infringes on the rights of the learners by making them uncomfortable,” adding that she has written formal complaints to the authorities to intervene but in vain.
Mr Peter Mawerere, the Jinja City deputy town clerk, said the nightclub was opened due to political interference.
“During the construction of the popular joint, there was a resident district commissioner (RDC), who permanently sat there to ensure that the construction was smooth. The environmental team was turned away by that RDC, which makes implementation difficult,” he said.
Mr Charles Nampendo, the Jinja City physical planner, said the club sits on part of land belonging to the Church of Uganda which was leased out to various individuals.
St James SS, which is 53 years old, is a private school founded by the Church of Uganda. It has an enrollment of 800 students and sits on 10 acres of land.
Regulation
“We have not received any communication from the Church that they gave out a lease on their land, but they are not comfortable with the club. It is our mandate to regulate developments in the city and this particular development did not seek approval from us,’’ Mr Nampendo said.
However, Mr Wilson Talenga, the manager of D’Fantasy Lounge and Nightclub, said the physical development plan was changed when Jinja Municipality was elevated to a city.
“Since then, we have held a series of meetings and agreed that a club and school can co-exist and I should look for a mechanism of reducing noise because the National Environmental Management Authority (Nema) said we shouldn’t exceed certain decibels,’’ he said.
Mr Talenga, however, said they can’t close the club which employs more than 80 workers, adding that there is a new structure that is being constructed to limit the noise.
The Church was yet to comment about the matter by press time.
