Uganda will be hosting the 2021 MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMAs) in February 2021.
It was recently announced that Hip hop star DJ Khaled will host the virtual Awards Kampala 2 from his home in Miami on 20th February 2020. This was confirmed by DJ Khaled after sharing videos of himself on social media talking about how he will be hosting the awards.
Following his confirmation, a lot of Ugandans have come out to criticize the international popular entertainer for accepting to host the awards in a country where a popular musician turned politician is allegedly being targeted and harassed by security agencies.
Hon Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine who was a presidential aspirant in the just concluded Presidential general election has been put under house arrest since the 14 January presidential elections. Bobi Wine lost the election to the incumbent President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni who scooped 58% while Bobi Wine afforded only 34% of the cast votes. Bobi Wine however dismissed the results as rigged and in anticipation of post-election violence, the security bodies in Uganda decided to put him under house arrest to deter him from causing chaos.
Olive Najjuma, a co-presenter on the Fatboy show on RX Radio said that DJ Khaled and MTV going ahead to host the MAMAs in Uganda despite the challenges the entertainment sector is facing will be a disservice to themselves and the country at large.
“This is the time when the entertainment industry should show solidarity to Bobi Wine and the entertainment sector in Uganda. It’s wrong for DJ Khaled to accept hosting the awards in a country where popular musicians Like Kyagulanyi, his protégé Nubian Lee are being harassed and denied their rights!” she said on today’s show.
James Onen aka Fatboy who co-hosts the show also showed dissatisfaction with how the Ugandan government is handling the house arrest issue saying it is totally unnecessary. “I don’t see any reason why Bobi Wine is under arrest. It is totally unnecessary and only making us look bad on the international scene especially now that Uganda is going to be in the limelight as the coming MAMAs get closer,” Fatboy said.
The Fatboy show is hosted by James Onen aka Fatboy and Oliver Najjuma every weekday from 6am to 10am on RX Radio.
Download the RX Radio app: