The leader of the opposition in Uganda, Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, claims that he spent more than 12 hours in custody at the Dubai Airport detention center while being questioned by law enforcement.
Bobi Wine asserted in a Saturday interview that the Ugandan government had instructed airport staff to prevent him from conducting a benefit concert there.
However, on Monday, Uganda’s minister of foreign affairs dismissed as “hogwash and rubbish” the allegations that Kampala was responsible for Bobi Wine’s incarceration.
The musician turned politician had travelled to Dubai to organize what he dubbed a charity concert to collect money to bring back hundreds of Ugandans who are stranded in various Middle Eastern countries.
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“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 political related questions whether I was going to hold a rally or a music concert.”
The lawmaker claimed that after spending hours being questioned, he was taken to a detention center at the Dubai airport, where he encountered other people from various African nations who were being held on a variety of charges.
“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,” he continued.
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He claimed that after some time, he was released and granted entry, but was blocked from holding the concert.
Okello Oryem, Uganda’s minister of foreign affairs, stated on Monday that the country’s administration has more pressing problems to address than those touching on Bobi Wine.
“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,” said Mr Oryem.
“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.”
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On Saturday, the opposition leader said the owner of the venue where he was to hold the charity concert was instructed to cancel.
He did, however, note that despite the setback, he would find other ways to assist the incarcerated women.
“Unfortunately our Charity Concert in Dubai has been cancelled! The venue owner has been instructed to cancel. The information available shows Ugandan authorities have been working tooth and nail to ensure it doesn’t happen! The first attempt was to deny me entry, and now this!” he tweeted on Saturday.
“We owe it to ourselves to stand in solidarity with them! We hoped to assist many through the charity event, but the same people who refuse to help them frustrated that effort. Despite the setback, we shall still find ways of helping and I encourage all those with means to help.”
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Bobi Wine later stated that he visited the women being held at Al Awir Deportation Jail, Dubai.
“All they need is a flight home,” he said, adding that they only required UGX800,000 for their plane tickets.
“After our cancelled charity concert, we visited sisters being held at Al Awir Deportation Jail, Dubai. All they need is a flight home for Approx 200USD(800K UGX). Here alone are 600 African girls (200 Ugandans and 400 other nationalities- away from the other 20 detention centers,” he wrote.
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