Tems shares her experience of detention in Uganda

Grammy-winning Nigerian artist, Temilade Openiyi, widely known as Tems, has opened up about her ordeal during her detention in Uganda.

Tems and Omah Lay were arrested and subsequently imprisoned in Uganda after appearing at a concert held at Speke Resort, Kampala, on December 12th, despite COVID-19 social distancing regulations.

In a recent interview with Angie Martinez of Power 105.1 FM, New York, Tems asserted that they didn’t violate COVID-19 rules and believed it was a setup.

The Oscar-nominated artist expressed her fear of not being released from jail and recalled adapting quickly to the situation.

Tems explained, “We didn’t break the [COVID-19] rules. It was basically like a setup. We went to Uganda for a show. It was during the COVID year, but they had opened things up by then. They had just held a rally in Uganda, and people were going out. It wasn’t on lockdown; it was the aftermath.”

She continued, “The organizers said they had the permit, they sent us the permit. Everything was cool. But 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 came and said we should follow them. So, he went with them. They came back upstairs to pick me up, and it was like, who called them? Later, I found out that there was something strange… It was scary. I spent two nights in prison, and I thought I wasn’t going to come out. I thought maybe I was going through it for a reason. I thought this was maybe for me to help the people in prison. It was crazy, I won’t lie. I was settling in because I adapt really quickly.”