Tems Explains Why She Won’t Return to Uganda

Tems explained to a fan why she hasn’t returned to Uganda, and the reason is pretty understandable.

In a Q&A session on Tuesday (Nov. 25), Tems was asked by a fan to elaborate on why she hasn’t returned to the African country.

“What’s the lore behind you not coming to Uganda? #AskTems,” the fan wrote on X.

The singer simply replied by sharing a photo from her court appearance in Uganda back in 2020, where she was charged with violating the country’s COVID-19 protocols.

Tems had previously reflected on the ordeal during a conversation with Angie Martinez back in 2023. She had spent two nights in a Ugandan prison after allegedly violating COVID-19 social distancing rules, and said the ordeal was terrifying.

“We didn’t break the rules but it was basically like set up,” she told Martinez. “After the show, the police came, they weren’t in uniforms. They just knocked on my hotel door — we were eating lunch or dinner, my manager and I. And they just came and said we should follow them … so [my manager] went with them, but they came back upstairs to pick me up.”

She continued, “That was so scary. I spent two nights in jail. … I thought I wasn’t gonna come out. I thought … I was seeing this for a reason. Maybe this is for me to help these people in this prison. It was crazy, I’m not gonna lie.”

Tems most recently dropped off her latest project, Love Is A Kingdom, on November 21.