People Power spokesperson Joel Ssenyonyi says Otim’s meeting with the president isn’t surprising, saying they have got reports indicating that the artist has so far met Museveni twice. He says that they also got reports that the musician received money from the head of state, which casts doubt on his loyalty to the pressure group.
Ssenyonyi says Otim’s meeting with the president is a clear indication that he is after money but not the struggle. He says although the musician has publicly acknowledged meeting the president, he has not yet informed them about the meeting.
“We hope that as his leaders, he can reach out to us and explain a couple of these things that have started to happen. It is difficult of course. He has been meeting the president, we understand he has been given money and in the public eye he has lost trust because it looks like he’s after money. We need him to explain these things to us before we take whatever decision we have to take.” said Ssenyonyi.
Otim, however, says his meeting with the president wasn’t to solicit for money to cross to NRM party but rather to seek for payment for a song titled “Mzee wa kazi” he composed for Museveni’s 2006 campaign.
He says the song helped the NRM party to gain ground in the region, adding that the president had promised to pay for it but since then he has never received payment. Otim said the president promised to pay him Shs 300 million for the song after meeting him one-on-one. He says Bobi Wine and several other top opposition party leaders know about the song, adding that he has done nothing wrong to follow up payment for his work to put food on his the table for his family.
“It is all about my payment, the money I have worked for. Not bribe, it has got nothing to do with a bribe. Bobi Wine knows about this money, Museveni knows about this money. Both of them know about this money. [Kizza] Besigye knows about my money, Norbert Mao knows about my money because they have been reading and reading news about Bosmic money that Museveni has not paid. So I thank God that at last Museveni has made his mind to pay my money.” said Otim.
Otim, however, declined to comment on whether he is still an active member of the People Power movement. As of last year, Otim who has released songs critical of NRM members from the region and Museveni’s leadership had been heavily involved in People Power activities, including holding rallies in Acholi sub-region. He was arrested by the police twice between June and August last year for allegedly holding illegal rallies in Gulu municipality.