“I’m in cuffs in Uganda right now with Tems”
Nigerian artiste and performer, Omah Lay has confirmed his arrest by the Ugandan police authorities over holding an unapproved concert in violation of the ban on social gathering to stop the spread of Covid-19.
The news of his arrest broke out on Sunday evening when a Ugandan news outlet reported that the musician was picked up together with Ivan Ddungu, the manager of the place where the concert took place and Events Manager, Prim Kasana, who contracted Omah Lay to come to Uganda.
According to the publication, the artiste and the organizers of the event, after being warned, went ahead with the concert and are now being charged for engaging in acts that could further spread the Covid-19 disease.
Their arrest stemmed from pressures from Ugandan entertainers and ordinary citizens accusing police of failing to stop the concert that took-place at The Big Brunch, Speke Resort, in Kampala on Saturday night in the wake of COVID-19.
Patrick Onyango, the Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson said:
“We have arrested them and are also looking for the area officer in charge of the police station for failure to detect the criminal acts that took place in his area of jurisdiction”. Onyango said on Sunday evening.
Confirming the arrest of Omah Lay as well as another Nigerian singer,Tems, alongside her manager, Luk Owoyesigyire, the Assistant Superintendent of Police and Deputy Police Spokesperson, Kampala Metropolitan Police posted on Twitter below:
Omah Lay who was also arrested alongside another Nigerian singer & Performer, Tems, confirmed his arrest via a Twitter post urging his fans that everything would be fine.
However, latest tweets from the Nigerian singer shows he is worried over his continued detention as well as being charged to court for flaunting the COVID-19 protocols of the country.
He posted on twitter saying “I’m in cuffs in Uganda right now with Tems“.
Omah Lay has also hinted that the Ugandan police is not allowing the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Nigeria intervene in the situation while noting that it looks like he is being set up because he is only an entertainer who was contracted to provide a service and not the show organiser.
Uganda Police charges Omah Lay, Tems and Her Manager to court
According to a tweet from the Uganda Police Force, the trio – Omah Lay, Tems and her manager have been charged to a court in Uganda for performing at a concert without authorisation and disobeying the COVID-19 protocols.
The concert is holding at a time when political rallies of more than 200 people and churches in Uganda are prohibited and restricted to a gathering of 100 people only.
The widely promoted concert with more than a thousand persons in attendance have been severely criticised by Ugandan artistes and citizens.
The tweet says they will be remanded till Wednesday, December 16, 2020.
Sharing the news on their official Twitter page, the Ugandan Police force tweeted:
The Afro Fusion Artiste, Omah Lay just released his New EP titled “What Have We Done”.
Omah Lay is popular for his hit songs “Lo Lo”, ”Bad Influence”, ”You”, ”Godly” while Tems has hit songs like ”Try Me”, ”Damages” and ”Mr. Rebel”.
