Ugandan police shuts down Bobi Wine Boxing Day concert

A Boxing Day concert by Ugandan artist-turned-politician Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, was on Wednesday disrupted by police officers.

This comes a day after Uganda Police Force spokesperson Emilian Kayima told Ugandan publication, The Daily Monitor, that the concert would not go on as planned saying it wasn’t cleared.

“We shall be at Busabala beach to disperse revelers because we shall be protecting them. As far as I’m concerned, this concert wasn’t cleared because the first things weren’t done,” said Kayima to the publication.

According to a thread of tweets by Bobi Wine on Wednesday, the police officers blocked roads leading to the venue of the concert – One Love beach, Busabala – and dispersed the crowd with tear gas and water cannons.

The police also reportedly disrupted two Christmas Day events at which the outspoken critic of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni was scheduled to perform.

Bobi Wine further dismissed Mr. Kayima’s claim saying they wrote to the police about the event and complied with all legal requirements.

“As they have been doing recently, they did not respond to us at all, until last night when they showed up to dirupt the event. This is after we had invested a lot of resources in advertising and other preparations,” wrote the Kyaddondo East legislator.

He added that the police officers who disrupted the event refused to face cameras, only saying they were executing “orders from above.”

Bobi Wine, in a message to President Museveni, wrote: “Through these actions, you are revealing who you truly are- a brutal, cold and cowardly despot. You think you are hurting me and my associates by blocking my sources of income, but you should know that the world is watching.”

Friends,
The situation at One Love Beach is tense. It has been turned into a war zone. As if the raid last night was not enough, this morning they blocked the roads leading to the Beach and announced that our Boxing Day show is off. [THREAD] pic.twitter.com/oGSeBY3edr

— BOBI WINE (@HEBobiwine) December 26, 2018