Nigerian Artist Tems.
Nigerian artist Tems has provided further insight into her ordeal in a Ugandan detention facility where she, along with Omah Lay, spent two entire days in 2020 following their court charges.
During her detention, Tems was entirely isolated from the outside world and had to rapidly acclimate to prison life. In an interview with Angie Martinez, she shared a vivid account of her journey, starting from the moment she was taken from her hotel.
Initially, she thought it might be a joke, but as she arrived at the prison and received her uniform, the harsh reality set in, and she found herself in tears.
She said, “I thought I wasn’t gonna come out. I thought I was seeing it for a reason like maybe I was meant to help the people. I was settling in because I adapted real quick and as I was walking in I started to cry because they gave me my uniform and it stunk because they don’t wash it.“
“It was a small room and there was nothing, there’s just the floor they give you blankets and tissues and you’re just on the floor, no bed and I did it for two days. I didn’t even know I was going to get out, I didn’t have any ears on the ground nobody told me anything. Outside everyone was like ‘free Tems, free Omah lay but inside I was just hopeful, waiting.”
Omah Lay and Tems at Uganda Police Station, 2020.
During the night of December 12, 2020, Omah Lay and Tems took the stage at The Big Brunch event, hosted at Speke Resort on Wavamunno Road in Kampala, Uganda. Following their performance, the Ugandan police charged them with violating COVID-19 regulations during the lockdown.
Back in Nigeria, there was a collective effort to ensure the prompt release of Tems and Omah Lay. Tems’ manager’s father journeyed to the capital, Abuja, to meet with then-President Buhari and resolve the matter. Consequently, the two artists were swiftly released and returned to their home country.