TEMS SHARES HER EXPERIENCE IN UGANDAN PRISON

Nigerian superstar Tems gave a detailed account of her two-day stay in a Ugandan prison with fellow artiste Omah Lay in 2020.

The two were detained following charges brought against them for performing at an event during the Covid-19 pandemic. In an interview with Angie Martinez, Tems said, “After the show the police came they were not in uniform, they knocked on my hotel door and I was eating dinner with my manager. They said we should follow them. My manager agreed but they came back to pick me. That was so scary, I spent two nights in prison.”

Tems says being in prison changed her dressing style. “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. My new swag is after that, it made me stop caring about many things.”

The singer quickly adapted to her new environment, “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,” she said. Tem’s manager’s father met with President Buhari in Abuja to resolve the situation and they were released and returned home.