Abstract

This article investigates the impact of implementing the safe medical male circumcision policy (SMMCP) on the cultural practices of Imbalu in Uganda. A gender theory of masculinity was used to establish the conflict between the two practices. Qualitative research methods helped to collect data from seventy (70) participants—in-depth interviews and focused groups (FGs) from Bududa, Manafwa, and Mbale districts. Data were transcribed and stored in the Microsoft Word folder, then uploaded in the qualitative computer application Atlas Ti for data cleaning, categorizing, and coding into themes. The results draw attention to the ambivalence the Bamasaaba feels about implementing the SMMCP in the Bugisu communities. This ambivalence arises from divergent views that individuals may hold simultaneously concerning both tradition and modernity. The study recommends further sociological investigations into the global implementation of this health policy, involving other African traditional groups that have ambivalence toward the implementation of the Safe medical Male Circumcision (SMMCP).