Popular Ugandan singer turned politician, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, known by his stage name Bobi Wine, has described the arrest of Omah Lay, a fast-rising Nigerian musician, in his country as an “act of shame by a corrupt regime operating double standards”.
WITHIN NIGERIA recalls that on Sunday, December 13, Omah Lay was arrested alongside Tems, a Nigerian vocalist, and his associates over his involvement in an ‘unauthorised’ concert that held on Saturday night in the Ddungu Resort in Munyonyo, Kampala City.
Both singers were on Monday charged to court for flouting the protocols put in place by the Ugandan government towards curbing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The development has since provoked intense controversies on social media platforms with many Nigerians, including celebrities, calling for the singers’ release from the custody of Ugandan police.
Taking to his Twitter page to join the call for Omah Lay’s release, the presidential aspirant claimed the singer’s arrest isn’t about COVID-19.
“Truth is Omah Lay‘s arrest isn’t about COVID. No! It’s an act of shame by a corrupt regime that operates on double standards,” the politician wrote alongside a photo from the concert wherein the singer performed and other pictures which showed how COVID-19 guidelines were being violated by citizens of Uganda during a political rally.
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 & performed under police protection! Why arrest him? This as pro-Museveni artists stage street concerts unmolested! #FreeOmahLay pic.twitter.com/TR0zf2cJes
— BOBI WINE (@HEBobiwine) December 14, 2020