How I Was Locked Up In Prison In An African Country In 2020
Notable Nigerian Afro hip hop singer and Grammy-award winner, Temilade Openiyi better known as Tems has narrated her ugly experience in a Uganda prison during the COVID-19 lockdown.
During COVID 19 lockdown, two Nigerian singers, Tems and Omah Lay were charged to a Ugandan court over their reported appearance at a concert at Speke Resort, Kampala in violation of COVID-19 regulations by the African country.
However, while commenting on the event in a recent interview, Tems referred to her being charged to court over COVID-19 guild lines violation in Uganda as a setup. She claimed not to have violated any COVID 19 guild line during the concert.
Tems said, “We didn’t break the [COVID-19] rules. It was basically like a set up. We went to Uganda, I had a show there. It was during COVID year but they had opened things up that time. They had just had a rally in Uganda. People were going out. It wasn’t on lockdown. It was the aftermath.
“And the organisers said they had the permit, they sent us the permit. Everything was cool. And went there and there is this particular artist, I’m not sure now what his role was but he was just busy threatening Nigerian artists that they shouldn’t come.
“And after the show, the police came. They weren’t in uniforms. They just knocked on my hotel room. My manager and I were eating lunch or dinner. And they just came and said we should follow them and my manager was like he would go with them.
“So, he went with them. But they came back upstairs to pick me up. So, it was like who called them? Later, I found out that there was some weird… That was so scary. I spent two nights in prison. I thought I wasn’t gonna come out. I thought maybe I was going through it for a reason. I was like maybe this is for me to help the people in prison. It was crazy, I ain’t gonna lie. I was settling in because I adapt real quick.”
