Nigerian acts, Omah Lay and Tems were arrested by the Ugandan Government for performing at a concert called “The Big Brunch – Afrobeats Edition,” organized by Kasana Events in Kampala. According to the Ugandan Police, they were arrested for flouting COVID-19 rules. The artists were arrested on December 13 and have subsequently been released.
Omah Lay, Tems, and Muyiwa Awoniyi, Tems’ handler were charged before a magistrate court in Makindye, Uganda for “negligently doing acts likely to spread an infectious disease” according to section 171 of the Ugandan Penal Code Act. If convicted, they would have faced seven years of imprisonment without the option of fines.
Many Nigerian celebrities condemned the arrests and asked the Federal Government to intervene on behalf of the Nigerian nationals. They have now been released after spending two days in Police Custody.
In a series of tweets, Mr Eazi thanked the Ambassador of Uganda to the United Nations, The Chief Justice, and the Federal Government of Uganda for the release of the artists.
Pleased to hear that My brothers and sisters are to be released & the case is resolved, Big love to everyone who worked on this & Special thanks to @adoniaayebare & The Government of Uganda, Chief Of Justice In Uganda 🙏🏿. African relations must keep fostering strong!
— Uncle Njobvu (@mreazi) December 15, 2020
He also added that event promoters must be held accountable for flouting rules and regulations.
On the said issue, Promoters must adhere to Rules and Regulations & be held accountable for flouting these rules. We African Creatives get Little or no support, for the soft power & amount of Jobs we create! The sector must be looked at holistically! God bless Africa.
— Uncle Njobvu (@mreazi) December 15, 2020
Ugandan reggae artist, Bebe Cool, who had originally called for the concert to be canceled and threatened to frustrate the success of the event, also shared pictures of the court release documents on Twitter.
Great news!!! They are free @Omah_Lay and @temsbaby pic.twitter.com/dKztHF3HKZ
— Bebe Cool (@BebeCoolUG) December 15, 2020
However, their arrests have made other African acts uneasy especially as the 2021 MTV Africa Music Awards has been slated to hold in Uganda on February 20, 2021.
Prominent among them is Bizzle Osikoya, a Nigerian A&R expert and co-founder of The Plug Management who declared in a tweet that “Nigerian Artist def Boycotting #MTVMama2021 in Uganda.” Other Twitter users have also tweeted using the hashtag #BoycottMTVMama.
Nigerian Artist def Boycotting #MTVMama2021 in Uganda.
— Bizzle Osikoya (@bizzleosikoya) December 14, 2020
Both Omah Lay and Tems are nominees in the Best Breakthrough Act category alongside Shasha, Zuchu, Elaine, Focalistic and John Blaq.
MTV is yet to issue a statement and none of the lead nominees whose accounts were monitored by Netng said they would boycott the event.
But pundits insist that with the avoidable arrest, detention, arraignment, and embarrassment of the two Nigerian artists, Uganda’s partnership with the MAMAs may be in jeopardy.
This, not only because of expected boycotts in solidarity with Omah Lay and Tems, but also as a lot of artistes will now be wary of the country fearing for their safety and freedom.
‘The heavy-handedness of the Ugandan Government would serve as one reason for their boycott, if nothing else’, one music industry source said.
It is also worthy to note that this isn’t the Ugandan Government’s first time treating African artists deplorably. South African artist and icon, Yvonne Chaka Chaka was also deported in December 2019 for allegedly showing support for opposition presidential candidate, Bobi Wine. However, police spokesperson Fred Enanga explained that Chaka Chaka had entered the country using a wrong visa.