Ugandan singer Joseph mayanja a.k.a Chammeleon has today attracted attention in the Uganda capital Kampala when he camped outside the Tanzanian embassy demading for his Passport.
The social media is abuzz with the story. This has however, taken another diplomatic dimension. Tanzania has allegedly sent someone to deliver the singers passport.
Chameleone arrived outside the Tanzanian embassy with a mattress, jerrycan and guitar in hand, lay down his tools and took a nap attracting the attention of passers-by as well as embassy security.
The Story
According to Uganda’s Monitor, Chameleone alleges that on July 8, a Tanzanian promoter identified as Eric Shigongo took away his passport and two others belonging to his minders Sulaiman Kalisa and Kibalama Denis at Atriums Hotel in Kinondoni, Dar-es-salam, Tanzania.
Chameleone said the promoter who had hired him to perform at the Saba Saba show on July 7, requested Chameleone and his collegues to hand him their passports alleging he wanted to photocopy them for purposes of taxation with the revenue authorities in Tanzania.
“Eric didn’t return the passports. When I met him outside the hotel, he told me he was demanding me $3500. He told me he had given the said amount to my manager a one George Mugabo in Kampala as deposit for the show a few weeks back,” Chameleone said.
With placards that read “Tanzania help me,” “I need my passport,” the crowd at the Tanzanian embassy swelled and police was called in to calm the situation. It took the intervention of the Uganda Police Boss Gen. Kale Kaihura who convinced Chameleone to go with him and solve the matter amicably.
Chameleone explained that he reported the matter to Oyster Bay Police station in Kinondoni Tanzania before he secured temporary travel documents from the Ugandan Embassy in Tanzania to travel back to Uganda.
The singer also explained that he got in touch with the Uganda Police that effected arrest of Mugabo George on Monday. Chameleone says he had met the Tanzanian ambassador in Uganda twice but the meetings bore no fruits.
Rwandan Involved
Chameleon says, “To my dismay, I traveled to Rwanda for shows at Serena Hotel and I was shocked when I saw Geroge standing outside Serena Hotel In Kigali. He even threatened to hurt me.”
Gen. Kayihura has thus ordered investigations into the matter. “I’m going to call Kataratambi and ask him to investigate this thoroughly, I also want the person who was handling the case investigated and suspended with immediate effect.”
However, an official in the Uganda Police told Gen. Kaihura that he had called authorities in Tanzania and that a Tanzanian Col. Kasaijja was on a plane enroute to Uganda to deliver the three passports.
Chameleone, however insisted that he would go back to the Tanzanian embassy if he had not received his passports by the end of the day.
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