Bobi Wine offers to airlift Ugandans out of China

The Ugandan singer-turned opposition politician, Bobi Wine, has said he will airlift any Africans and African Americans out of China suffering mistreatment from the authorities.

In partnership with American businessman Neil Nelson, who runs the digital magazine Atlanta Black Star, Wine is calling on the Chinese government to better protect Africans from being targeted in the community.

The move was sparked by reports that black people were being harangued in the Chinese city of Guangzhou, as baseless rumours that the coronavirus was spreading among African communities took hold.

Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, released a joint statement on Twitter with Nelson, “offering to airlift Africans [and] African-Americans being subjected to inhumane treatment in parts of China”.

The statement also calls “upon the government of China to urgently intervene and ensure that targeted attacks on black people are brought to an end”.

It’s thought that hundreds of Africans and African-Americans were evicted from their homes and hotels in Guangzhou over the Easter weekend.

Nigeria, through its embassy in Beijing, has said it is also prepared to evacuate its citizens from China.

The Guangdong provincial government said it attached “great importance to some African countries’ concerns and is working promptly to improve” its way of operating.

Photo: BBC