An arrest warrant has been issued in Uganda for the arrest of Nigerian musician Wizkid after he failed to show up for a concert in the East African country.
Wizkid, real name Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun, did not show up for a concert on December 3 at Lugogo Cricket Oval in Uganda capital Kampala.
His representatives said he was in the United States for medical reasons and could not travel to Uganda due to “unavoidable circumstances”.
But promoters of the show sought legal redress saying they already paid the musician $60,000 (K43.5 million) performance fee, $5000 (K3.6 million) brokerage fee and $3000 (K2.2 million) per diem for the days the musician and his crew would have been in Uganda.
They also claimed that they incurred expenses in bookings and re-booking of flights, hotel, venue, advertisements and promotions at the cost of more than $300,000 (K217.5 million). In addition more than 25,000 people bought tickets for the concert.
The court granted the arrest warrant which directs any police officer from Uganda police or Interpol to arrest Wizkid and produce him to court before January 16, 2017.
If arrested the musician will face charges of receiving money by false pretense, cheating and conspiracy to defraud.
Wizkid will have to pay the organisers the money they lost or face an 11-year jail term.
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