President Yoweri Museveni has welcomed back Lucky Bosmic Otim, a popular musician in northern Uganda, who fled the country after being accused of taking part in subversive activities.  

President Museveni said Otim was mistreated by crooks and forced to flee to Nairobi and South Sudan.

“My Muzzukulu, Mr. Bosmic Otim, was mistreated by some crooks and forced to flee to Nairobi and South Sudan. Additionally, he was falsely accused, with claims that he was a rebel. Now that he has returned, I welcome him back to Uganda and to the NRM party. We will investigate to determine who is responsible for this mistreatment and uncover the reasons behind it,” the President, who was in the company of Otim and other leaders from Northern Uganda, said in a video that was released by State House on Saturday, May 4, 2024.

Speaking after a meeting with the President, Otim said he fled to exile for his dear life when people he worked with in the National Resistance Movement turned against him.

“It was shameful that members of my own party, the NRM, turned against me after the elections just because of the rewards that we were supposed to get. As the chief mobiliser of Greater North, I was denied facilitation yet I had managed to do a very good job mobilization. We won the elections, but later on, my own friends from my own party decided to try and kill me," Otim said after a meeting with President Museveni at State House.

He promised to work hand in hand with the Government to ensure that its programmes are implemented successfully.

“Today, I am back and feel so honoured to be received by the President. I am back home to work on the implementation of government programmes,” Otim said.

Who is Otim Bosmic?

Born in Kitgum district in the 1980s, Otim is a popular musician in Northern Uganda who rose to fame in 2006 during peace talks between the Government and the Lord’s Resistance Army.

 He became a household name because of his songs that called for an end to the war that had claimed thousands in the region.

In 2007, the LRA team called him to entertain them. Most of his songs carry political undertones. In 2019, he joined Robert Kyagulanyi’s People Power group which led morphed into the National Unity Platform (NUP) party.

He became the chief mobiliser of NUP in Northern Uganda, which put him on a collision course with security agencies in the area. In October 2019, the Kitgum district security committee banned Otim from music performances.

In 2020, Otim crossed from NUP to the National Resistance Movement where he served until he fell out with local mobilisers and ran to exile. Before running to exile, Otim criticized the leadership of NRM and President Museveni, whom he accused of intimidation. 

He said for the short time he was in NRM, he was not genuinely supporting the party.