Bebe Cool has denied accusations that he was accountable for the 2020 arrest of Nigerian artists Tems and Omah Lay through the COVID-19 lockdown.
Talking on the Afrobeats Podcast with Adesope, Bebe Cool clarified his function within the incident, stating that slightly than getting them arrested, he truly labored to safe their launch.
Tems and Omah Lay had been detained after performing on the Huge Brunch occasion in Uganda, an occasion that allegedly violated COVID-19 restrictions.
Following their arrest, many together with the artists themselves blamed Bebe Cool, claiming he had known as the police on them. The hypothesis got here from a publish he had made previous to the occasion, criticizing it for going ahead whereas Ugandan artists had been nonetheless barred from performing.
In keeping with Bebe Cool, he first discovered of the arrests when a pal, Bushingtone, known as him at 3 a.m. in search of assist.
Before everything, I didn’t get them arrested in Uganda. It’s very tough when the web picks on a narrative in a route subsequent to inconceivable to show it round.
He claimed that, upon listening to the information, he instantly started making calls and personally went to the police station to know the state of affairs. He questioned why the Nigerian artists had been arrested as an alternative of the occasion organizers, particularly since Uganda’s COVID-19 rules allowed gatherings of as much as 200 individuals.
Regardless of his efforts, Bebe Cool mentioned {that a} feminine occasion promoter accused him of orchestrating the arrests, probably as a consequence of his earlier criticism of the live performance.
As he tried to mediate at police headquarters, he found by way of his telephone that the artists had already been taken to courtroom.
At that second, I bought a name from Davido asking me why I bought the fellows arrested, and I needed to defend myself that I used to be truly working to get them freed.
He additional defined that securing their launch was not simple. After consulting with officers, he was knowledgeable that it might be almost inconceivable to get them out earlier than spending at the least 5 days in jail. Nonetheless, he continued, utilizing his connections to acquire the mandatory authorized paperwork.
After relentless efforts, Bebe Cool mentioned he efficiently helped facilitate the discharge of Tems and Omah Lay the next day. Regardless of the backlash he confronted, he maintained that his involvement was of their favor, not in opposition to them.
