Luzira inmates form band

By Nicholas KajobaTHE inmates in Luzira upper prison condemned section have formed a musical group to entertain visitors and their colleagues during the weekends.The group, which has over 100 backup members, has hopes of releasing their maiden single Sebutinde Komawo (Sebutinde come back).The song emphasises the need to set up another Sebutinde Probe commission, this time in prison so that inmates on death row and life sentences can have their cases heard again.The group does its re-hearsals everyday, especially in the evenings in the condemned section of the prison. Some members of the group were once local musicians before they were arrested and imprisoned.Mugabi Jimmy, a prisoner on death row is among the group leaders. He said that they decided to start the group in order to have hope in future.“You know when you sing you can have hope that one day you may get your freedom and be free forever,” he said.The group was dressed in white shirts and shorts and their smiles depicted their eagerness to usher us into the new year with their songs.One of their lead vocalists said that they hope in future to record an album if they get sponsored.“The only problem is that we do not have anyone to sponsor us. But we can put our songs on market and compete with other musicians who are not in prison,” he said. Over 200 inmates on life and death sentences have already been incorporated into the group. Once you join the condemned section, you are obliged to join the group in order to ward off the loneliness in your heart. The sad and memorable words from the five sweet songs that were presented to the audience during their brief maiden show left the audience nodding their heads.The songs are sang in Luganda, Kiswahili and English. Some of the songs are about God.These highly inspirational songs give hope to a fallen heart. Backup members include Ali Fadhul, Jackson Wavammuno, Chris Rwakasisi and Birikadde.