Kampala, Uganda | URN | Music promoters Abby Musinguzi, also known as Abitex and Andrew Mukasa Alias Bajjo have been released on police bond. The two were arrested on charges of inciting violence and organizing an illegal assembly at Wankulukuku Stadium where they had planned a music concert fete dubbed Ekyepukulu, on Sunday 4th, August 2019.
Deputy Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesman Luke Owoyesigyire said the two promoters defied police orders to call off the concert as earlier communicated to them. Police said the music fete was cancelled on the basis of information indicating that it had ulterior motives.
Bajjo and Abitex have been involved in running battles with Police over music concerts especially where Kyadondo East MP Robert Kyagulanyi also known as Bobi Wine was slated to perform. Less than a month ago, he was arrested, remanded and later granted bail on charges of offensive communication and inciting violence against the person of President Yoweri Museveni.
Bajjo’s troubles stemmed from a video in which he was allegedly inciting people to cause an uprising against President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and his government. The video, which was uploaded on social media pages, was reportedly circulated with the intent to disturb the person and privacy of the President.
Although Bajjo had initially pleaded guilty to the charges, he later changed his plea after the court secured a fluent Luganda interpreter to guide him into understanding the charges.
The arrest came moments after a press conference in which he announced a marathon organized to support Robert Kyagulanyi, the Kyadondo East Member of Parliament to raise the money he has lost over a number of failed concerts and children who lost parents during the infamous Arua riots last year.
The same promoters had earlier dragged the police to court for blocking Bobi Wine’s Kyarenga Extra Concerts. The two said that they had a Memorandum of Understanding with Bobi Wine to provide entertainment at a cost of 230 million Shillings. The musician cum Politician had received half of the payment before the concerts were blocked.
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According to their records, up to 124 concerts featuring Kyagulanyi, have been cancelled since 2017. The cancellation of Ekyepukulu music show brings the number of Bajjo and Abitex cancelled music concerts to 126. The police say that most of the concerts were blocked after the organizers failed to adhere to the stricter safety guidelines and site infrastructure concerns at the selected venues.
The Police indicated that the previous Kyarenga concerts had poor track records that were characterized with multiple incidents, related to public nuisance due to overcrowding, thefts, violation of traffic rules and various misconducts, which were not only a breach of law but also a danger to the revellers and the lives of other members of the community.
Ekyepukulu has been an annual music concert for the last five years.