Nigerian musicians condemn arrest of colleagues in Uganda
Nigerian Musician Stanley Omah Didia, aka Omah Lay (left), with his manager Muyiwa Awomiyi leaving the Makindye Magistrates’ Court in Kampala yesterday. They were charged with negligence and were remanded to Kitalya Prison until Wednesday. PHOTO/ STEPHEN OTAGE
KAMPALA- Nigerian celebrities and fans of artistes Stanley Omah Didia, alias Omah Lay, and Temilade Openiyi, alias Tems, yesterday expressed mixed reaction over their arrest and detention in Kampala.
The two Nigerian musicians were arrested yesterday for disobeying Covid-19 guidelines meant to curb the spread of the pandemic.
The fans took to social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook condemning the arrest of the two musicians as others called for their immediate release.
“Wasn’t there prior publicity about the show? Why wasn’t it shut down before it was held? Why are you arresting artistes that performed? Who organised the show?” Olamilekan Agbeleshe, famously known as Laycon on social media, a reality show star of Big Brother Nigeria, asked.
The Grammy nominated artiste, Burna Boy, also called for the release of the two musicians.
Runtown, another singer, said: “It is a total shame that Nigerian artists Omah Lay and Tems, who flew into Uganda legally for a publicly announced event, are being hounded and embarrassed in such a manner.”
The two artistes alongside their handler Muyiwa Awoniyi were arrested after they held a concert dubbed, “The Big Brunch, Afro Beats edition,” at Ddungu Resorts in Munyonyo, Makindye Division.
This was after Omah Lay shared a picture of himself with the crowd of people who had turned up for the show at a time Ugandans are restricted from moving after 9pm or gathering as a way of fighting Covid-19.
The two Nigerian nationals alongside the concert organisers and the owner of the venue were charged with negligently performing acts likely to spread an infectious diseases and were remanded until Wednesday.
Reaction to arrests
Mr Peter Okoye of the defunct P-Square duo has previously performed in Uganda twice, however, while talking to his 3.4 million followers on Twitter, he said there was no need to present the singers in handcuffs and asked for their release.
This comes a week after MTV Base, the African version of the renowned MTV music channel announced nominees of the MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMAs) that are set to be held in Kampala on February 20, 2021.
The two arrested artistes are both nominees in the Best New Artiste category alongside Sasha, Zuchu and John Kasadha, alias John Blaq, among others.
It should be noted that the Ugandan government, through the Uganda Tourism Board and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities entered a partnership with MTV to have the awards held in Uganda to promote tourism.
With the arrest of the two artistes, Uganda’s partnership with the MAMAs may be in jeopardy as different figures in the Nigerian entertainment industry castigated Uganda and called for the boycott of the awards.
Uganda has had a love-hate relationship with Nigerian music. At one time, local artistes castigated DJs and radio presenters for prioritising Nigerian music over their own.
