- Tems detailed her experience in the small dingy prison starting from when she was picked up from her hotel to when she was discharged
- The singer stated that she thought it was a joke at first but when she got to the prison and was handed her uniform, it then dawned on her and she cried.
The Nigerian singer Tems has shared further details of her two full days of incarceration in a Ugandan jail in 2020 following her court charges, along with Omah Lay.
According to Tems, she struggled to adjust to being in prison relatively fast because she was cut off from the outside world during her detention.
She described her time in the tiny, run-down prison, beginning with her pickup from her hotel, in an interview with Angie Martinez.
She stated that at first, she thought it was a prank, but after arriving at the prison and receiving her outfit, everything seemed far too real, and she started to cry.
Tems 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”.
Even while she remained optimistic, she did not believe she would be able to go anytime soon. Tems observed that the women she bonded with in the prisons were essentially locked up for the most insignificant of reasons, and that some were kept in by guards who were paid to do so. The jail structure prohibited inmates from making phone calls unless they had money, which she lacked.
The singer mentioned that she entertained the ladies at the prison by winking at them when she walked in.
According to her, she needed nerves to adapt fast and, most importantly, to prevent her from crying.
She was visited by the woman in charge of the women’s jails, who gave her an explanation of the rules and the consequences of disobeying them.
She stated that the Solitary confinement constituted the ultimate punishment, without food or drink.
They fed them once a day, and were informed they had to kneel to communicate with officials.
She added that she didn’t eat through out her two days in the Ugandan jail.
Recall that Omah Lay and Tems performed at The Big Brunch on December 12, 2020 at Speke Resort, Wavamunno Road, Kampala, Uganda.
Following their performance, Ugandan police prosecuted them in court for violating COVID-19 laws during lockdown.
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