Nigerian artists Omah Lay and Tems have been arrested in Kampala, Uganda for flouting Covid-19 guidelines.
They were arrested shortly after a performance at The Big Brunch, at Speke Resort, Wavamunno, Kampala.
In a tweet Omah Lay, famous for hits ‘You,’ ‘Lo Lo’ confirmed the arrest but assured fans of his safety.
“Yes I’m with the Ugandan police… something about the show from last night. Everything would be fine…” he wrote.
Assistant Superintendent of Police and Deputy Police Spokesperson of Kampala Metropolitan Police, Luk Owoyesigyire, said Tems’ manager, the manager of the venue where the musicians performed, and the events manager, Prim Kasana, were also in their custody.
Three police officers including the area officer in charge of the police station in the area were also arrested for failing to detect the criminal acts that took place in their area of jurisdiction.
The show was held at a time when political rallies of more than 200 people and churches in Uganda were restricted to 100 people.
Ugandan artistes and citizens condemned the widely promoted concert which had more than 1000 people in attendance.
In their statement, the Ugandan police alleged that the organisers of the concert first held lunch and dinner events, but later on at night started inviting artistes to perform.
‘‘Preliminary investigations indicate that they connived with area police officers, who guarded the illegal event.
The arrested officers and three others still at large are also being investigated for disobeying lawful orders.
All the suspects are detained at Katwe Police Station in Kampala as their files are being processed so that they can appear in court,’’ their statement partly read.