Tems recently opened up about her terrifying arrest and confinement to a tiny prison room in Uganda. She described her experience to Angie Martinez during an interview.
When she was brought up from her hotel, she believed it was a prank at first, but when she was given a smelly, dirty jail outfit, the truth set in. She was afraid she might not survive.
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Tems said her little cell in prison consisted simply of a floor, some blankets, and some Kleenex. She was isolated from the outside world for two exhausting days and was unaware of her whereabouts. She even believed that her jail ministry may serve a function in aiding others.
She started crying as soon as she saw her uniform, which smelled awful. She hoped, but she had no idea if or when she would be freed. She formed bonds with other female inmates, many of whom were detained for insignificant offenses, some of which were the result of prison officer misconduct.
Tems stated that there were severe regulations in the women’s prison, such as having to kneel when addressing officials and only being fed once a day. She made the decision to live only off the water, going without food for a while.
Following a performance in Uganda on December 12, 2020, Tems and another artist were accused of breaking COVID-19 regulations, which led to this incident. Riley’s Entertainment News gives a thorough description of this upsetting event.
See her caption below;
“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.”
