By Dominic Muwanguzi

MUSIC is like wine, the older it gets the sweeter it becomes. This was manifested at the Hakuna Wakati Abuja 15% Sasa concert when the Queen of African music, super diva Yvonne Chaka Chaka performed at a crowd that had braced long hours of waiting.

As soon as she stepped on the stage, people screamed and blew vuvuzelas, happy to see the 1980s super star. Does anyone remember the mega hit, I am in Love with the DJ ? As soon as Chaka Chaka started singing it, the crowd went wild, dancing with all their strength.

No sooner had the dust settled than the DJ played Umukomboti, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Chaka Chaka, also Africa’s ambassador for peace, joined the excited audience, leading them in a procession around Hotel Africana’s Nile conference hall enjoying the fun and joy her fans showed.

The sweetness of her voice left many perplexed at the fact that the older she gets, the sweeter her voice.

The concert crowned the AU summit whose agenda was to review the progress Africa has made towards the Millennium Development Goals. It saw the super diva call upon HIV-positive people to take their antiretroviral drugs regularly and those not yet affected to live responsibly.

She also called upon African leaders to deliver the services they promised their people in the Abuja, Nigeria 2001 conference.

There were other performances from Uganda’s Maddox Sematimba, Bobi Wine, Afande Charles, Joanita Kawalya, Fina Masanyalaze, Dr. Proper, Jamime and sail-Uganda. Non-Ugandan singers included Miko Zulu, from Zambia and Mingas from Mozambique.