Musician turned politician, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu alias Bobi Wine will not be able to hold his Osobola Concert tomorrow on Independence Day after failing to fulfill all the needed requisite guidelines, reliable sources have confirmed to this news website.
Wine wrote to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Martins Okoth Ochola on September 30, notifying him of the music concert code named ‘Osobola Ku Independence’ at One Love Beach Busabala.
He stated that the event would attract ten thousand people and would run from 10am to 11pm.
“I write this letter in accordance with Section 5 of the Public Order Management Act, 2013 to notify you of my intention to hold a music concert at One Love Beach, Busabala in Wakiso district on Independence Day 9th October, 2019. I am the proprietor of the said venue,” wrote Bobi Wine to the IGP.
“I also request for security for the said concert. On our part, we are ready and willing to work with the Police to secure the venue as well as the revelers. We shall accordingly comply with any lawful guidelines that may be issued in this regard,” he added.
On Tuesday, the musician told some sections of the media that he had not received any response from Police regarding the matter.
However, EntebbeNews has since established that Police has already disallowed the concert since his notice to the IGP “has remarkable deficiencies, which does not guarantee lawfulness, safety and security for the public and the organiser(s).”
According to the source, in his notice to the IGP, Bobi Wine’s plans for medical care, traffic control, crowd control and security were not clearly and specifically given due diligence as per the earlier guidelines given.
The source has also intimated to this news website that Police has also made it clear to the musician that they won’t be able to provide the security he requested for since Police will be preoccupied with providing security during the national Independence Day celebrations in Sironko district.
“Regrettably therefore, the staging of the said concert cannot be allowed to proceed until the raised concerns are satisfactorily addressed,” the source quotes a line in police letter to the musician.
The source says the Commander Kampala Metropolitan Police and the regional Police Commander KMP/South have already been notified by the Police leadership to ensure that the concert does not take place in the pertaining circumstances.
Police has previously stopped a number of Bobi Wine’s music concerts at the same venue, citing failure to fulfill the requisite procedures.
In April this year, Bobi Wine’s Easter festival concerts were stopped by Police on grounds that the organizers didn’t comply with the safety and security guidelines put in place.
“We want to inform members of the public that despite the elaborate and clear guidelines with the promoters, regarding their preparations, manner and conduct during the concert, as well as the safety and security demands from their side, our intelligence picked up information that the event was still a risk to public safety,” said Police spokesperson CP Fred Enanga in a letter in April.
“As responsible citizens, we urge the promoters to take advice and the safety of revellers seriously by suspending or stopping the concerts, until such a time that robust public security and safety mechanisms are put in place,” he added.
