Culture

Ugandan rapper/opposition figure, Bobi Wine, recounts ordeal in Dubai detention, blames government

Published

2 years ago

October 12, 2022

Leading Ugandan opposition leader and rapper, Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, has narrated his ordeal following a 12-hour detention at the Dubai Airport Detention Centre

Bobi Wine who revealed his ordeal on Tuesday on his social media network, claimed his travails were orchestrated by the Ugandan government, said his country had instructed the airport officials to block him from holding a charity concert in the Asian country.

Though the Uganda Foreign Affairs Minister, Okello Oryem, has described Bobi Wine’s allegations as “hogwash and rubbish,” insisting that Kampala had nothing to do with the entertainer’s detention, the musician believes his country was behind it.

Narrating what transpired when he traveled to Dubai on Saturday to hold what he called a charity concert seeking to raise funds to bring back hundreds of Ugandans who are stranded in different Middle East countries, the singer-turned politician he was singled out on arrival at the airport and invited for interrogation.

“When I arrived at the airport at about 8pm, I noticed that there was an unusual deployment, so I was taken into a room and they started to interrogate me,” he said.

“They asked me politically related questions whether I was going to hold a rally or a music concert.

“There were many people and during the time I was with them, they cried about how they are struggling for freedom and many of them knew me and they were calling me by name. These people are held on different cases but I had all the documents needed,” Bobi Wine said.

He said he was, however, set free after 12 hours and allowed into the country but the concert was blocked.

While responding to Bobi Wine’s allegations on Wednesday, Oryem said the Ugandan government of had more serious issues to deal with than worry about the rapper.

“The government has more serious things to do than follow Bobi Wine. He has tried to say things to the whites but they can’t listen to him because they are very bright.

“I suspect that Bobi Wine had a wrong visa and that is why he was arrested. He should not put it on us. Bobi Wine has been to Ukraine and shot a movie and told Europeans bad things about the Ugandan government but they have not listened to him.

“He is now out of content and he doesn’t have anything to say so he is forwarding his problems to the NRM government,” Oryem added.

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Culture

Tyla set to drop new single ‘Tears’ on November 20

Published

2 days ago

November 14, 2024

Isaac Dachen

South African “Ampiona” crooner, Tyla, is set to thrill her fans to her new single titled, “Tears’, which is set to drop on November 20.

According to a statement by her management team, Tyla’s fans should expect something different from the “Water” singer as she is set to release a brand-new single in collaboration with Coke Studio.

“This exciting partnership follows her announcement as part of the Coke Studio 2024 line-up alongside R&B star Usher Raymond in September,” the statement said.

Tyla who is fondly called the “Pretty girl from Joburg,” also took to her Instagram page to share the news with her fans.

Posting a snippet of the video on her Instagram story with the caption, “‘Tears’ coming November 20th! A song in partnership with @CocaCola”, confirming the November release date, she urged her fans to look forward to something different from what they are used to.

The brand has also shared on its social media platforms that Tyla will be performing this highly-anticipated single when she returns to Johannesburg, South Africa, at a special Coke Studio live event.

In an interview with Coke Studio, the 22-year-old singer shared how she breaks away from her original sound with “Tears”.

“I feel like in a lot of my songs, I’m dancing a lot. I really wanted a song where I could just sing, be more raw with people, and showcase my voice this time,” she said.

Snippets from the new single has showcases Tyla’s enchanting vocals, revealing a more vulnerable side that is different from her previous work.

“Breaking away from the amapiano and pop sound she’s best known for, Tyla embarks on an exciting new journey with this project,” one of the reviews said.

“Through “Tears”, she wants to connect with listeners in a raw, captivating way as she partners with Coke Studio to bring this new sound to life.’

Culture

Moroccan court jails journalist 18 months over remarks about politician

Published

4 days ago

November 12, 2024

Isaac Dachen

A Moroccan court on Monday sentenced a journalist, Hamid Mahdaoui, to 18 months in prison after he was found guilty of accusing a prominent politician of fraud, a verdict that has sparked international condemnation from press freedom advocates.

Mahdaoui’s case has garnered international criticism because he is being prosecuted under Morocco’s penal code rather than the press code governing journalistic conduct.

His attorney Mohamed Hedach, told journalists after the judgement that Mahdaoui who is the editor in chief of Badil.info, will serve a 1.5-year sentence and be fined an equivalent of $150,000 after being found guilty of defamation.

Mahdaoui was prosecuted after a complaint from Justice Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi following a video posted on his website accusing Ouahbi of corruption and fraud, both of which the justice minister denied.

The accusations, according to media reports, came after the royalist Party of Authenticity and Modernity, which Ouahbi headed, became enmeshed in controversy last year when an imprisoned Malian drug dealer implicated party members in a sprawling drug trafficking case that shook the North African kingdom.

Reporters Without Borders’ North Africa representative Khaled Drareni had in October, called the prosection of the journalist a “misuse of the justice system to intimidate and silence the press.”

Mahdaoui was imprisoned in 2017 after publicly throwing his support behind activists who led protests over social and economic inequities. He was also sentenced to three years for not reporting to authorities that a Dutch Moroccan man had told him arms were being sent to the protesters. He later said he didn’t report it because he didn’t take the information seriously.

Morocco has in recent years been criticized for imprisoning journalists and activists known for criticizing the government. King Mohammed VI pardoned and released the country’s three most prominent imprisoned journalists — Omar Radi, Taoufik Bouachrine and Soulaimane Raissouni — in July.