Tems recently shared her distressing ordeal during her arrest and imprisonment in Uganda. In an interview with Angie Martinez, she recounted her harrowing experience, initially believing it was a joke when she was apprehended at her hotel. However, the grim reality set in when she was handed a filthy prison uniform that emitted a foul odor, making her apprehensive about her fate.
Tems described the prison cell as a cramped space with minimal furnishings, consisting of blankets and tissues on the floor. She spent two agonizing days there, completely cut off from the outside world, with no information about her release. During her confinement, she contemplated whether there was a purpose for her to help other prisoners.
The emotional moment came when she received her unpleasant uniform, which brought her to tears. Despite her hope, she remained uncertain about her release date. She formed connections with other women in the prison, many of whom were detained for trivial reasons, with some cases involving corruption among the prison staff.
Tems said, “I thought I wasn’t gonna come out. I thought I was seeing it for a reason, like maybe I was meant to help the people. I was settling in because I adapted real quick, and as I was walking in, I started to cry because they gave me my uniform, and it stunk because they don’t wash it. It was a small room, and there was nothing. There’s just the floor, they give you blankets and tissues, and you’re just on the floor, no bed, and I did it for two days. I didn’t even know I was going to get out. I didn’t have any ears on the ground; nobody told me anything. Outside, everyone was like ‘free Tems, free Omah Lay,’ but inside I was just hopeful, waiting.”
Tems revealed that the women’s prison had strict regulations, including the requirement to kneel when speaking to officials and receiving food only once a day. During her time in prison, she opted to survive on water, abstaining from food.
This challenging experience unfolded following a concert in Uganda on December 12, 2020, during which Tems and another artist were charged with violating COVID-19 guidelines.
