The highly anticipated Gulu Music in Space International festival on climate change has been canceled after the organizer, Bjorn Vido, complained of being scammed, bullied, and threatened while preparing for the July 2025 event.
In a WhatsApp message addressed to Gulu City Mayor Alfred Okwonga, Bjorn said that he had decided to look for another country to host the festival after being scammed and bullied by his local partners.
“I fell in love with this place from the beginning and felt that I could settle here. Unfortunately, things have developed in a different direction, and I am now far along in the process of finding a new location and unlikely to return,” he said.
Bjorn explained that the reason for his abrupt exit from Gulu and the cancellation of the three-day festival, scheduled for 4th to 6th July 2025, is, “We have been bullied, scammed, and threatened, so we see no other option but to move our festival to a safer location.”
Bjorn Vido alleges that a group of local partners, led by Tonny Olanya Olenge and Walter Pro, scammed over 92 million Ugandan shillings.
The breakdown of the expenses is as follows: Shs16 million for house rent, Shs6.5 million for furnishing the house, Shs1 million for the security guard, and Shs2.5 million for plumbing the house.
He was also asked for Shs1 million for the bereavement of Tonny Olanya Olenge’s friend, Shs500,000 for the bereavement of Walter Pro’s (Eezzy’s manager) friend, and Shs3.6 million for a fake work permit.
He further alleges that Shs18.2 million ($5,000) was used for coordinating international and national journalists, Shs1.6 million for the Kaunda ground expenses (including Shs350,000 for police, Shs750,000 for a chef, Shs250,000 for dancers, Shs150,000 for a team to slaughter goats and cattle, and Shs150,000 for the rainmaker.
Additionally, Shs6.5 million was required for food, another Shs6 million for extra food, and Shs3 million for payment to the meteorological department.
He also claims that Shs25.5 million ($7,000) was taken by Olenge, who was introduced as the country director/coordinator of the Music in Space festival during a press conference held on Friday, March 28, 2025.
Additionally, Bjorn Vido, who hails from Denmark, alleges that musician Laxzy Mover fraudulently increased the agreed amount from Shs5 million to Shs10 million for each of the three artists—Eezzy, Eddie Wizzy, and himself.
“On top of that, Laxzy came with the artist deal. The contracts with Laxzy, Eddy (Wizzy), and Eezzy were suddenly for 10 million shillings each—totaling Shs30 million for three 15-minute shows,” he said.
“Nobody gets that. We had agreed to Shs5 million, but now I saw my signature on a deal I had never seen before.”
Bjorn further mentioned in his message that before exiting Gulu city, he had fired everyone except for Tonny Olanya Olenge, “and I couldn’t let Tonny go. He is too highly connected,” which he feared would make things difficult for him across the country.
However, when contacted, Olenge questioned Bjorn Vido’s character, asking, “Why did he run away instead of going to the right authorities?”
He said his team would provide a response to the allegations raised by Bjorn Vido, which led to the cancellation of the festival, intended to raise awareness about climate change.
As of press time, it had not yet been revealed which country the Music in Space festival would be moved to, but Bjorn mentioned that he would invite one Ugandan artist to attend and participate in the festival on the previously scheduled dates of 4th to 6th July 2025.
