Last Updated on: 7th May 2020, 07:17 pm
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is the only person who can save many Ugandans from the current sufferings after his government’s continued lockdown.
The second edition of partial lockdown that was to expire today at 12:00am [midnight] was soon extended for 14 more days until 19 May, 2020.
In his 13th address to the nation on Monday night, giving new guidance on coronavirus situation in Uganda, Mr Museveni directed the following businesses, institutions to resume operations and services while following Ministry of Health’s strict guidelines. Law and Insurance firms, warehouses, repair shops and garages, hardware shops, and few others, have resumed businesses.
Music or entertainment industry; night clubs, bars are to remain closed, for at least two weeks because musicians or partiers are non-essential service providers.
This decision has left many musicians, comedians and other similar group of entertainers both in Kampala and those in many up county towns to suffer. The suffering is not only financially but also due to shortage of food and the cooking ingredients.
TND News has exclusively learnt that Lira musicians – majority of whom are aligned to National Resistance Movement [NRM] party are divided, angry with their leader after bags of posho they were to be given went to ‘ghosts’
Last week, TND News learnt that the said food distribution to musicians [artists] and DJs was to take place at Lira Golf Course.
However, on Tuesday, 05 May 2020, King Blood Moon who’s the leader of the relief food distribution under ‘Lira NRM Musicians’ surprisingly changed the distribution venue from Lira Golf Course to Uganda Technical College [UTC] Lira campus, one of the musicians TND News will protect her identity after request, says.
Each musician was to be given 4kgs of posho. There were over 100 beneficiaries with a total of about 500kgs for relief, this contemporary newspaper has learnt.
Asked who donated the posho to them, this is what our source, who also missed the relief food, said: “It [sacks] bore the names of Hon Jimmy Akena Obote,” she said. Jimmy Akena is the Lira Municipality MP, who also doubles as the UPC party President.
Last week, MP Jimmy Akena donated 10,000kgs of posho to be distributed to his Lira Municipality voters who are suffering due to lockdown. He handed over the donation to Lira RDC, Milton Odongo.
“It was delivered to the artists and DJs by the Office of the Lira RDC – Milton Odongo,” she added. “The communication reached the artists that the distribution was to take place at Golf Course, it was then abruptly changed to UTC Lira.”
While some artists went to Golf Course and bounced, those who got the last minute communication went to UTC Lira.
“A section of musicians cried, they were foul blaming Blood Moon who generated our names leaving other,” TND News has learnt.
A fierce conversations via WhatsApp between these musicians has since leaked to this publication.
“Those whose names were on the list but were not present by distribution time lost their posho to Blood Moon,” leaked chats reveal.
“Some say the selection was more political than on merit and on no consideration that at this time everyone is affected by coronavirus,” TND News has been told.
Lango artists do not have an association, the one that was started died on the way, due to voracity, an artist who also missed the relief food, angrily told our Lira based Reporter.
“There is an informal body called ‘Lango NRM Artists Association’ and Blood Moon is the chairperson,” he added.
TND News has further learnt that some [musicians and DJs] who were lucky and got a bag of posho each are now happy.
This is a developing story