The evolution of Sanyu FM

Sanyu: time after time after time

December 18, 1993. On that date, media and entertainment in Uganda changed, forever.

That was with the birth of Sanyu Radio, the first privately owned FM station in Uganda. It was at midday on that day that the station came to life, with a Kenny G jazz number.

It changed the ways we listened to music, changed radio presentation, changed how we stored our music, gave us new celebrities, maintaining and somewhat killing killed off the old ones, brought the disco into the home, made old terminology hip (dial, knob), and introduced many to new genres of music.

'rs' Elvis (l) With Colleague Gloria In Radio Sanyu Studio

It became the new addiction, and ever since then, we have never looked back.

There was no way of looking back to the boring Radio Uganda channels (it too had FM channels) that had very brief music shows, and a lot of “developmental” talk.

Teenagers then saved money for buying pirated Segico cassettes to dubbing music on blank cassette tapes right from Sanyu FM, always keeping the finger on the stop button in case the presenter interrupts. If you did not do that, your growth just wasn’t awesome enough.

Dj Ben During His Programme The Comforting Ride On Sanyu Radio

It set the standards for all radio, especially in programming- with morning shows segmented into sports, inspirational talk, relationships, humor sections, and the like.

It set the pace for mid-morning shows that are still mostly presented by women who focus on relationships. The evening drive shows are mostly copied jobs from the Sanyu format and so are the many Love Doctor late night ones.

So when there was trouble at the station at the beginning of June, the panic was easy to comprehend. There was a mixture of nostalgia and apprehension as many castigated the owners for interfering with the norm and dump on them voices that did not “belong”.

Dj Tomothy Modise Modisane Strikes A Jovial Chord In The Sanyu Studio With Colleague Edgar Digkole

When the workers, including all presenters, had a sit-down strike, management sacked all. However, some of the on-air presenters like the Jaluo and DJ Xyl have since returned to the station. Fat Boy, the station's most prized presenter has sworn not to go back, as has Daudi who presented the evening drive show before the strike.

The station is going through a restructuring of sorts, and when we contacted several of the current staff members, they didn’t seem aware of their current roles.

To understand why there was all the panic, you need to go back to all the good times, and the upheavals that shook that station right from 1993. Sanyu has had three phases, as far as the audience minds:

From Left To Right, Rasta Rob, Mc Shai Of Angenoir, Dj Charzo Of Sanyu Radio And Club Silk, Shanks Vivie'd Of Capital Radio And German Based Musician Daudi Sebanyiga(1)

Celebs make Sanyu

By 1993, Alex Ndawula, the first presenter on the station along with Chris Ireland, was already popular as a club DJ. And so were many of his fellow presenters. There was a wave of entertainers going into radio, leaving night clubs and stage performances. It was like carrying entertainment into our homes, or in our hands; on a radio set. There were the likes of Rasta Rob- “on the master knob.”

Ragga Dee also fell in, as did Menton Summer (RIP). If you remember DJ Chazzo then you surely belong to this old family of FM listeners. We were given these celebs, and many more, in the palm of our hands. If you did not know where RS Elvis started his radio journey from, now you know it was here.

To note, there were not only celebrities working as presenters on the station. There were other presenters whose voices also became celebrated. Gloria Kamba, the very first presenter on their morning show, called The Early Riser and another called Intimate Connection, now lives in the U.K.

Dj. Gloria Of Radio Sanyu

Sunset Soul presenter Samson Bill also became someone to wait for every week. There was the child presenter Ivan Musoke, who is now a copywriter at the advertising agency TBWA.

It was an era in the life of Radio Sanyu. However, it came to an abrupt end. According to mountain-man Alan Kasujja, there was a strike by the employees, and that earned them the sack. Then he, and others without a clear claim to fame took over.

Dr. Jazz Sanyu Radio Rasta Rob In Background

Sanyu makes celebs

In 1997, the radio station re-launched. There was no change of guards then, but the change was fundamental nevertheless. There had been an exodus of presenters to Capital FM and CBS.

However, there was not much debate then on whether anyone leaving Sanyu would be missed. From that time on, people walked into those studios to become famous. They did not go to the studios with fame.

DJ Shadow was popular as the boss of the Shadow’s Angels. It is now hard to believe that he is the meek Roger Mugisha, because his then night under-the-sheets shows were a marvel.

The list of those who Sanyu made famous is quite long but we can just pull off a few names: Belinda Musoke (now running the Ondaba campaign and a magazine editor), Mutesi, The Mitch (events management and advertising now), Nash Kiwanuka, Crystal Newman (single men, she is single again after the divorce), Lysandra Chen (living abroad, probably in Jamaica).

Emcees Dj Mitch Of Sanyu Fm With Jean Laker Of Radio One During The Pam Awards At Munyonyo

There is also Seanice Kacungira (media agency boss, wife of a Nigerian movie star), Christine Mawadri (a radio journeywoman indeed), and Melanie. They each left a mark. Big Ben (Bigi Bigi Ben) served the station for decades, without putting on an ounce of weight. K.K (Ken Katuramu) also garnered a following.

Of course, every one of parenting age cannot forget Allan the Cantankerous (RIP). He was very humorous, and a great conversationalist. To his credit, he popularized jazz music, and to-date the top-of-the-hour jazz music played on the station is a moment you would not miss.

James Onen aka Fatboy, who finds himself in the middle of a storm now, is not only the voice of the station but also its face.

Back to basics

When the Sanyu FM employees were recently hoodwinked into a strike and thus the eventual sacking, management went on a head-hunting drive.

On September 20, 1999, Sudhir Ruparelia took over ownership of the station, and it was renamed Sanyu FM. That came after the crumbling of the Kato business empire that included a bank (ICB) and Sanyu TV (those 90s R ‘N B music videos cannot be forgotten).

Azim Tharani, William Byaruhanga, Sudir Ruparelia & John Katto At Athina Club On September 20th 1999 During Which Sudhir Conducted A Deal With Katto To Take Over Sanyu Radio

The new owners have seemingly read from the old script and decided to go back to the times when the station employed celebrities instead of making them. However, it has met a lot of criticism for nostalgic fans.

The moment it came to light that comedian Salvador would replace Fatboy as the morning show presenter, listeners rushed to social media to show their displeasure. Salvador, a celebrity already, had fans backing him too.

The bashing has reduced, although there is also not so much praise. When Gareth Onyango took to social media in search of good female presenters, there were jokes that finally, friends of the station’s boss, Rajiv Ruparelia, had found jobs.

Dj. Mike Radio Sanyu

Is this a false start? Only time can tell. Will those who were weaned on good old Sanyu stay or move elsewhere? Perhaps not all, and there is no knowing the proper number. If mostly comedians are hired, shall the station become a joke that its listeners will like?

Sanyu has really come full swing, and we have to thank it for its impact on the media. Entertainment wouldn’t be what it is now without the revolution that Patrick Kato and his team started in 1993.