Legendary South African musician Yvonne Chaka Chaka was last evening deported from Uganda hours after arrival ahead of her New Year performance in the capital Kampala.
It is thought that the singer was placed in bad books after she heaped praises to Bobi Wine last year during her performance at Kampala Serena Hotel, where she referred to him as the new Nelson Mandela.
Chaka Chaka was arrested immediately after arrival and detained at Pearl of Africa Hotel in Nakasero where she spent the night.
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Her phone was confiscated and she was not allowed to communicate with anyone, not even Abitex who organized the show.
Uganda’s Sqoop reports that Abitex’s phone was also confiscated in the process.
Confirming the deportation, Police spokesperson Fred Enanga said the artist was deported on grounds that she did not have a Working Visa to Uganda.
“This is to inform the public that a security task team with close coordination with immigration officials has this afternoon escorted Ms Mhinga Yvonne, popularly known as Chaka Chaka to Entebbe International airport, where she boarded her next immediate flight to South Africa, via Kigali,” he said.
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According to the police, Chaka Chaka entered the country with an ordinary visa which was cancelled by immigration officials after it was realised she had come to perform in one of the new year events.
“She was advised together with her promoters to apply for a working visa and avoid the pretence of being an ordinary visitor. The ordinary visa can not enable her to perform in any income-generating activity within the country. This has been done by the immigration officials with the security team to help maintain the integrity of our immigration rules,” added Enanga.
However, it is believed that the praises heaped on Wine, who is already in government’s bad books, earned her the deportation.
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Mid October last year, President Yoweri Museveni called Bobi Wine an “enemy of the country’s prosperity”, in an interview with the BBC.
President Museveni is seeking a sixth term in office in 2021 after being in power for 33 years.
Bobi Wine, the leader of The People Power movement, accuses the president of overseeing a system of oppression.
“Bobi Wine went to America and said that people should not come invest in Uganda. That means he is an enemy of progress in Uganda. When you go and tell foreigners that they should not come and invest in our country, you are waging war on our prosperity. So why then do you want to come and take advantage of that prosperity? That may be one of the reasons [for cancellation of Bobi Wine’s concerts] I suspect, I have not talked to the police in details,” said Museveni.
In the last one year, several of Wines concerts were cancelled on petty reasons.
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