Top musicians honour Tony Sengo

Nov 17, 2002

They all came to honour the late Tony Sengo. He might be dead, but the spirit of one Uganda’s greatest musicians was alive and well on Thursday last week at Sabrina’s Pub

By Kalungi Kabuye

They all came to honour the late Tony Sengo. He might be dead, but the spirit of one Uganda’s greatest musicians was alive and well on Thursday last week at Sabrina’s Pub.

What could be the biggest collection of some of Uganda’s leading musicians came out to honour and remember one of their own, and to raise money for the family he left behind.

There were the new breed of Uganda hip hop artists, the likes of Chameleon and Bebe Cool. And also veterans like Elly Wamala and Jimmy Katumba. There were even kadongo kamu singers complete with queen dancers. And in between they came out to show what they had, well-known names and some we had never seen before.

It was not a very highly publicised event. But the FM stations helped and, although it rained, hundreds of people turned up and stayed till the very end, early in the morning.

First were the Jazz Refugees from America, with a little help from Afrigo’s Moses Matovu. Did someone say Ugandans do not understand jazz? Not this crowd, they liked what they heard and voiced their appreciation loudly.

Julie Sessanga came out from the cold and showed she still had that amazing voice that Sengo had first given a chance to be heard. Brenda Nanyonjo, who had also sang with Sengo did background vocals.

Rachael Magoola who has been out of sight of the city crowd for almost a year, got a standing ovation when she showed up. Two songs later, she showed she still had what it takes.

Sabrina’s resident Stone Band has guys who perform with an attitude, and the crowd loved it. The photographers had a field day with the dancers with protruding bellies.

Ken Wanda was next and did his thing, before Chameleon came and wowed the crowd with his energy. There was even a guy who called himself Omuyaaye wa Yesu.’ Another said he was ‘Super Charger.’

Master of ceremonies was Charles Senkubuge, but the ex-Presidential candidate must have had a campaign flashback, for he tried to keep most of the attention to himself.

Then it was time for the veterans. Elly Wamala clearly showed he was still Uganda’s favourite singer. Impeccably clad in a light tan suit, his three songs brought the crowd to their feet. By this time it was well past one o’clock, but nobody was moving. By the time Jimmy Katumba, now portly and with glasses, took to the stage at about two O’ Clock, the excitement was clearly overflowing.

That was when Fred Sebatta took to the stage. He performed his favourite song, Gologosa. with his queen dancers who had overflowing bellies.

At the end it was well worth it. More than sh2m had been collected that night, both from the gate and donations by individuals. And two of the children will not have any problems paying school fees, as people pledged to pay for them.

“At the end of the day we will all move on,” Alex Mukulu told the crowd. “But what happens to our families after that? We’ve got to get together and help ourselves.”

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