Vocalist Iryn Namubiru has opened a deep, painful chapter of her life that many only vaguely remember, through this tear-jerking post, the singer poured her heart out, sharing how the trauma from her 2012 detention in Japan and the tragic loss of her father just two weeks later still haunts her 12 years down the line.
“It is 03:03am and I have not closed my eye for even a second. I feel I need someone to tell me I am not mad if I say what’s on my mind!”
she wrote, in what felt like a midnight cry for healing.
That dark 2012 chapter…
For those who may have forgotten or are too young to remember — in 2012, Namubiru was arrested in Japan over alleged drug trafficking. She spent three intense weeks in detention, a story that dominated headlines and sent Ugandan social media into full speculation mode. Though she was eventually cleared and released, the emotional toll was massive.
And just as she was trying to breathe again… her father died.
“Only two weeks after my three-week detention in Japan, my father died. He was not there to welcome me back like everybody else did,”
Namubiru painfully recalled.
She shared how her dad had reportedly been trying to reach her just the day before his death — a detail that still breaks her heart to this day.
“I spent the day alone in my house even if there were other people living with me. My mother in particular chose to walk away, only to return at 4:00pm,”
she revealed, giving a rare and painful glimpse into the emotional isolation she felt at the time.
Iryn went on to describe how she drove to Bweyogerere (Nakawuka/Ssokolo/Kassanje) — where her father’s vigil was happening — only to find herself surrounded by unfamiliar faces from her paternal side.
“I was alone. Just like I am an only child, I was there by myself. I spent that night alone at my father’s vigil… fighting mosquitoes in my car.”
Even on burial day, her mother and children only showed up just over an hour before the ceremony.
Twelve years later, the grief still sits heavy.
“Tonight I am in my house alone and particularly emotional. I am crying all the tears I never cried that day and it’s been 12 years already. I have so many questions!”
