Nigerian artists arrested in Uganda for violating COVID-19 rules

Both musicians had performed at the event, which took place the previous day. They were arrested alongside Tems’ manager Muyiwa Awoniyi and detained at the Katwe Police Station. Kampala Metropolitan Police deputy spokesperson Luk Owoyesigyire confirmed that manager of the venue Dungu Ivan, event manager Prim Kasana and three police officers – including the charge officer of the police station in the area – were also arrested.

“Yes, I’m with the Ugandan police. Something about the show from last night,” Omah Lay wrote on Twitter. “Everything would be fine.”

The two musicians and Awoniyi made a court appearance in Makindye on Monday afternoon. Their charges included negligently doing acts likely to spread an infectious disease in accordance with section 171 of the Ugandan Penal Code 1950, which states that "any person who unlawfully or negligently does any act which is and which he or she knows or has reason to believe to be likely to spread the infection of any disease dangerous to life commits an offence and is liable to imprisonment for seven years".

The trio will remain in custody until Wednesday. Plans to release them on police bond were suspended after their casefile was sanctioned by the office of the director of public prosecutions.

The arrests have elicited public outcry by artists, with the hashtags #FreeTems and #FreeOmahLay trending on Twitter. Wizkid, Johnny Drille, Davido, Burna Boy, Patoranking, and a host of others have all taken to social media to call out the Ugandan authorities and demand the release of the musicians. 

“Free my people & bring them home safe,” Wizkid said. “Arresting Omah Lay and Tems makes no sense at all, Uganda. Patoranking wrote: "This is sad."

“They should not be treated like this @PoliceUg,” Burna Boy wrote. “They were invited for a show organised by your citizens, granted visas and tickets were sold publicly on the World Wide Web. This anarchy should not be targeted at the artists."

Ugandan musician-turned-politician Bobi Wine said that the arrests were uncalled for. “Truth is #OmahLay‘s arrest isn’t about COVID. No. It’s an act of shame by a corrupt regime that operates on double standards. He obtained a work permit and performed under police protection. Why arrest him? This as pro-Museveni artists stage street concerts unmolested."

Some local artists have also raised questions about why the Nigerian artists were allowed to perform in the country during the pandemic. Rapper Gravity Omutujju threatened to take legal action against the government, which he claimed “allowed this to happen when we the owners of the country are starving," he said.

‘‘[For] a foreigner to perform in Uganda, he must get a work permit, meaning the government was involved. In all honesty and fairness, how can you allow this concert to happen when you really know that you stopped your own artists [from performing], closed all happening [sic] places in a disguise of protecting the masses from catching COVID-19?”

Meanwhile, the Amnesty International on Monday accused the East African country of using the pandemic as a “pretext for repression.” The organisation's regional director for east and southern Africa Deprose Muchena said: “While it is reasonable that the Ugandan authorities, like others elsewhere around the world, should take measure to halt the further spread of COVID-19, it is apparent that in Uganda, COVID-19 regulations have been weaponized and disproportionately applied to the opposition as pretext for political repression and to restrict their activities, and their rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly,” 

Uganda’s Ministry of Health on Sunday reported 461 new confirmed coronavirus cases, bringing the country’s case count to 27 532, with the death toll rising to 221.