Swangz Avenue has come out to defend itself over the accusations of deletion of politically charged posts by their artist, Azawi.
The posts, which criticized corruption by public servants, were removed on the day of the #March2Parliament demonstrations, sparking reactions from netizens.
Azawi had recently posted several messages critical of corruption. These posts were deleted on the same day that youth protests against corruption were taking place.
Among the deleted posts was one that directly addressed President Museveni’s warning against the planned demonstrations.
In it, Azawi wrote, “You’ve arrogantly refused to work on issues that affect 78% of this population,….. I hope it won’t be too late when you eventually decide to listen to us.” This post, along with others, has since been removed from her social media accounts.
Julius Kyazze, the Chief Executive of Swangz Avenue, has addressed the situation, saying that the record label does not interfere with the personal beliefs or public communications of their artists.
Kyazze stated that he was unaware of the specific posts in question and emphasized that it was not a directive from Swangz Avenue to remove them.
What I know, it’s not a directive from Swangz that ‘Put this down’. Azawi has been vocal on things that she follows; football and social issues. And we never get between what the artiste thinks and what they want.
We are not a choir. As long as you own what you communicate. We can always guide, but we can’t impose.
Julius Kyazze while speaking to Plugged Uganda
