Uganda, June 1 -- Local leaders in Bugisu sub region are mooting a plan to copyright the Imbalu ritual and preserve it for the Gisu tribe.

In Namisndwa District, Lwahakha Town clerk Edie Wesonga said: "We need to get a copyright for it because anybody can come and grab intellectual property over Imbalu."

"By law, you cannot remove it from a person who owns the property rights," he explained adding that "copyrighting the rite is intended to preserve it for ages."

The Imbalu is mainly a cultural circumcision ritual that takes place every even year among the communities in Bugisu.

To the Bagisu it marks the initiation of boys into manhood. Every year, hundreds of boys aged 16 and above qualify for the "Imbalu."

Speaking during a press b...