AK47 was a humble star

By Olive Nagawa

Sometimes celebrities seem so hard to find, especially when one wants to interview them; not because they do not want to give an interview, but because they have no time.

That happened to me when I sought Emmanuel Mayanja (AK47) for an interview. He always told me he was busy, yet he really wanted to do the interview.

AK47 was my friend on Facebook and we used to chat. I would tell him I was a big fan and would appear in his video dancing and he laughed.

I first met AK47 in 2014 at Centenary Park. I had gone to interview Sarah Namukwaya (G-Snake). I saw him seated in the gardens with Ziza Bafana. Bafana teased me that l looked like AK47’s best friend and that I must be coming from his tribe. AK47 did not say anything. He just smiled at Bafana’s teasing.

I was happy to meet him. Yes, we chatted on Facebook, but we had never met. I felt like dashing to hug him, but I could not. I had to focus on the interview. After the interview, one of my friends (singer Naira Ali’s manager) told me that his brother, Pius Mayanja (Pallaso), had told him that he wanted an interview for Intimate in Saturday Vision, so I was in a better position to do that. That day, I went to Facebook and told AK47 that I had seen him. He asked me why I did not say hello.

Pallaso called me on November 8, 2014 for the interview since he was going to launch his album. I had to be there. I looked for AK47 to talk to him and had almost given up when I saw him in the gardens, having drinks with two friends.

I approached him and introduced myself. At first, he thought I was a stalker. I was so thrilled to meet him. I asked him why he had isolated himself from the rest and he said: “I feel comfortable here and besides, I hate chaos and sometimes I feel bad when I smell shisha (a drug).”

I could not help but ask him whether he takes drugs. He said he did not, that he only indulged a little in alcohol.
Pallaso arrived and the interview went on.

After that day, AK47 and I continued to chat on Facebook and always meet at Laughters for the Team No Sleep nights on Thursdays.

I went offline for some time this year, we lost contact.

Soon after that, I heard rumours from friends that AK47 had become a born-again Christian. I did not believe it, so I asked Pallaso for his brother’s number. I called him to find out and even asked him to give me an interview. He turned me down. He was busy trying to market his new song Ndi Mulokole.

He later accepted the interview and told me this was going to be a great year for him. He told me to find him at his father’s place in Seguku, Entebbe Road. I found him watching his song Kidandali on TV. His mother was sleeping and there was no one else at home. I asked him if he was fine and he said everything was okay. He asked me to listen to his gospel song, which I did — with pleasure.

We talked about him a being born-again Christian and I told him that he had not changed. We argued and then laughed about it. He then told me in a serious tone: “I have changed and I am waiting to confess in church.” He also told me that his post was to confirm to his fans that he had changed.

After the interview, he went to Radio Simba to market Ndi Mulokole. We parted ways in town.

I was offline, so I did not know what had happened. On March 17, I was with my friend who received pictures of AK 47 lying on a gurney at Nsambya Hospital. I saw the pictures and almost collapsed. I thought it was a bad joke.

I called Pallaso and he was sobbing. That was enough confirmation for me. I felt horrible and his words: “I cannot wait to see the interview in the newspaper,” echoed in my ears.

It was like a nightmare; it was hard to accept that he had gone. Owakabi, like I always called him, rest in peace.

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