Across East Africa and Nigeria, 2025 has delivered a series of policy and regulatory moves that sharpen the tension between safety, politics, and artistic freedom. In Kampala, following violent scuffles between rival camps linked to pop stars, police imposed a cap limiting artists to moving with no more than five people to and from shows. Officials framed it as a public-order measure; artists and managers called it unworkable for modern productions that rely on security, tech, and content teams.
Nigeria added its own flashpoint in April when the National Broadcasting Commission banned Eedris Abdulkareem’s “Tell Your Papa” from airplay, continuing a pattern of broadcast-side content restrictions that often sweep up political critique alongside legitimate decency concerns. The chilling effect is real: once a record is labeled unfit for broadcast, sponsors and venue bookers grow skittish, even if the song remains available on streaming platforms.
In Tanzania, the long shadow of BASATA’s gatekeeping remains. Rights groups and press coverage have documented repeated bans, fines, and prosecutions over “objectionable” lyrics or imagery—part of a broader regulatory climate that has ensnared protest artists like Nay Wa Mitego in a carousel of charges and performance obstacles. These actions frequently collide with artists’ claims of social watchdog roles and have raised questions at regional legal forums about freedom of expression.
The common thread is discretion without transparency: executives and regulators wield sweeping powers to sanction content and performances with limited independent oversight. A constructive reset would look like public, rule-bound standards; time-bound and appealable sanctions; and independent review boards with civil society and industry seats. Until then, creators will continue to self-censor, promoters will price in political risk, and fans will feel the fragmentation—even as the music itself is more global than ever.