Tems recently revisited a painful moment from her past after a fan questioned why she refuses to travel to Uganda. During a Q&A on Tuesday, Nov. 25th, someone asked, “What’s the lore behind you not coming to Uganda? #AskTems.” Instead of giving a long explanation, Tems responded with a screenshot showing a headline that read, “Nigerian singer Tems appearing before court in Uganda.” That single image made her feelings clear.
The question brought renewed attention to an experience Tems has previously described as traumatic. In 2023, the Nigerian star reflected on being arrested in Uganda and held for two nights, calling the situation “so scary.” The incident stemmed from a December 2020 show she performed in the country. Although the concert organizers insisted that all permits were secured and health guidelines were followed, local authorities claimed that COVID-19 social distancing rules had been violated.
Tems has said she believed the situation was orchestrated. “We didn’t break the rules but it was basically like set up,” she recalled. After the performance, she and her manager were in their hotel room when several men arrived unexpectedly. “They just knocked on my hotel door—we were eating lunch or dinner, my manager and I. And they just came and said we should follow them … so [my manager] went with them, but they came back upstairs to pick me up.”
Her fear grew once she realized she was being detained. “That was so scary. I spent two nights in jail. … I thought I wasn’t gonna come out,” she explained. She described trying to make sense of the moment, saying, “Maybe this is for me to help these people in this prison. It was crazy, I’m not gonna lie.”
Tems later reflected on the ordeal in a Dec. 13, 2021 post on X: “This very day Last Year, I was sitting in prison in Uganda bonding with women and kids… All I can say is God is too awesome and He will always have the last and final laugh.”
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