During a recent interview with Angie Martinez, Tems opened up about her stay at a Ugandan prison. The Nigerian hitmaker was arrested back in 2020 for putting on a performance despite COVID-19 social distancing regulations. According to her, she was under the impression that the organizer had obtained the permits necessary for the show to go on. She says that the arrest “was a setup.”
Tems recalled finishing up her show, and heading back to her hotel to have a meal with her manager. It was then that she heard a knock on her door, soon realizing that it was Ugandan authorities. Her manager went with them, and eventually, they circled back to pick her up. She was then taken to prison alongside another Nigerian artist, Omah Lay, where she spent two nights. “That was so scary,” she explained. “I spent two nights in prison. I thought I wasn’t gonna come out.”
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Tems Thought She Wouldn't Be Released
She went on, detailing the emotions she experienced while behind bars. “It made me stop caring about so many things,” she described. “All the women in there, they were there for nothing." Tems says that during her stay, she felt moved to help the other women there, who were locked up for petty crimes. “You’re just on the floor, no bed,” she revealed. “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 people were like ‘free Tems, free Omah Lay’ but inside I was just hopeful, waiting. There’s no calls, you can’t make a phone call.”
Eventually, Tems' team met with the president of Uganda, and she was later released. She claims that the prison stay changed her, giving her a new perspective after living under such poor conditions. "After that incident, things just started moving," she says. What do you think of Tems opening up about her stay at a Ugandan prison? Share your thoughts in the comments section down below, and keep an eye on HNHH for more news.
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