Kayibanda the humourist
CHANCES are that you don’t know him that much. Even though he has occasionally appeared on live TV shows, his identity remains somewhat a mystery to many, yet his humourous stints and raw Rwandese accent meet no strange ears.
By Stephen Ssenkaaba and Raphael Okello
CHANCES are that you don’t know him that much. Even though he has occasionally appeared on live TV shows, his identity remains somewhat a mystery to many, yet his humourous stints and raw Rwandese accent meet no strange ears.
His name, soft voice, idle talk and laughter are a proverbial morning charm that keeps many upbeat for the day. Daily, his familiar voice reaches out to us in our bedrooms or in the taxi/car on our way to work through radio. Like a shadow, he apparently follows us everywhere.
Before he walks down the aisle on Saturday, May 8 at Rubaga Cathedral and later hosts, what is perhaps going to be a ‘national’ wedding reception at Namboole stadium, we unravel the mystery man whose popularity among kids flows as deep among adults.
Who is this person who does not try so hard to get everybody laughing at his jokes? From the way he strolls around the green gardens of Bulange Mengo, the building that houses his work place, Central Broadcasting Station (CBS), it is easy to pass him up for a confused visitor!
Kayibanda’s youthful portrait grapples to reconcile with that imaginary portrait of an idiosyncratic trouble-infested Rwandese peasant on 88.8 CBS’s morning show, Bwakedde Mpulira.
Neither does it measure up with the vicious and uncompromising policeman in Bumali, a crime watch comedy. His bubbly vocal character during the fun-factual presentation of Budolindo news bulletin (Amawulire Agafa e Budolindo) on the same station is a far cry from his surprisingly withdrawn nature.
The short and stout 30-year-old comedian, who also features on WBS’s Late Show, cuts an image of a coy, unassuming young man. He is so meek; you could explicably dismiss him as boring.
But his astonishing sense of humour on radio will keep you chuckling like a fool the entire day, the potency of which profoundly lies in his baffling Rwandese accent.
Recently, during the morning show, he narrated how he struggled to feed his malnourished kid with a plate of RAW beans on “doctor’s adviceâ€! The doctor’s advice was “feed the child with FRESH beans.â€
Weeks before that, he featured on WBS’s Late Show, literally lumping sh1000 notes on his mobile phone handset in a vain attempt to load airtime! Jokes they were, like all others, silly and funny. That is Kayibanda.
If anyone knows his true name, it probably is his family and himself.
“Kayibanda is a name I got when I joined CBS. My true name is Godfrey Seguya,†he explained.
“SEGUYA! How the hell do you manage to work well around the Kinyarwanda accent,†we asked.
“My mother was a Munyarwanda,†he replies.
“Oh, so you are actually speak fluent Kinyarwanda,†we asked.
“No, I only know how to ask for food,†he jokes.
For a person whose voice we have long heard over the radio and whose face we occasionally see on TV, Kayibanda’s identity arouses a sense of curiosity, an unquenchable desire in so many of his fans that crave to see the man behind all this circus.
From his high-pitched tone, rib breaking jokes and rattling laughter that we hear over the airwaves, he creates an impression of a jolly, happy-go lucky chap, one who makes fun not only of himself but also of others. But spend a few minutes with him and you will find a shocking side to his personality.
For the first five minutes of our meeting, he looked undecided about whether to talk to us or not. He maintained a placid demeanour - neither showing happiness nor sadness. His attention is divided between his constantly ringing Sony mobile phone and friends, who keep annoyingly interrupting the interview.
One of his friends asks him for sh1000. He calmly and yet seriously tells him, “go sell your car tyres.†Considering our interests, we found the answer apt!
There is an air of restlessness around him as he keeps adjusting his white zipped jumper and yellow black and yellow Wrigley P.K cap shielding his face. When he finally makes up his mind to talk to us, he does it in a hush tone.
“I have never had any formal training in radio,†reveals the comedian, whose first radio experience was in 1999 when he beat 100 contestants in a screaming contest to win a slot on Radio Simba’s health show, Olugyegere lweby’obulamu (the health chain). Since then, he has never looked back.
“In 2001 a friend of mine, Peter Sendi, introduced me to Top Radio. While there, Umar Mufumba, then programme director, asked me to spice up an advert using different local languages. The one in Kinywaranda was the best,†he boasts.
Mufumba was so captivated with Sseguya’s mastery of Kinyarwanda that he slotted the comedian’s voice into an early morning show. The slot code named Minaani featured Seguya speaking a mixture of Luganda and Kinyarwanda.
The young man’s vast talent enthralled Mufumba. When Mufumba left Top Radio, later in 2001 to join CBS, he pegged Seguya to himself. They moved together. Fortunately, then, Atibu Muhammad, who had been doing the Kayibanda slot on CBS had resigned.
“I talked to Abbey Mukiibi the CBS programme director and told him. ‘Look, I know someone who can do this slot a hundred times better than the person who has been doing it’,†explains Mufumba, a presenter with CBS.
Within a few months of his jokes and Rwandese twang, Kayibanda Sseguya had become a darling of many CBS listeners who swarm him whenever they sniff his presence.
“Sometimes I spend 40 minutes in a place that I would otherwise spend five,†he said. “But I cannot send them away because they are the people who made me what I am. In fact, I am in a crisis over who I should invite for my wedding.â€
At the beginning of the interview, Berna Nabuyondo, a 10-year-old fan, offered sh1000 to Kayibanda.
“He is very funny. I listen to him everyday while at home and at school,†she said.
So impeccable is his accent that people engage in heated debates as to whether he is or not a Rwandese.
“I’m a Muganda,†he reveals. “My late father, Adolf Lubega, hailed from Jumbi in Mpigi District. And like I said earlier, it is my late mother, Azida Nakate, who was Rwandese.â€
His popularity shot when he took on Bumali, the Budolindo news bulletin (Amawulire Agafa e Budolindo) and the drama stint on WBS’s Late Show, thanks to his wealth of ideas which he says spring from anywhere and everywhere.
From the crowd of fans that swarm him in down town Kampala to the careless street talk that goes around, his source of inspiration lies therein.
“My flow of ideas depends on my moods. But money is my driving force. It dictates my mood,†he jokes. “Sometimes I go to the studio blank. But as soon as Abu Kawenja, my co-presenter, puts me on air, the ideas spontaneously strike,†he adds.
“Sometimes I have no idea what this guy is going to say,†says Kawenja. He startles me with his spontaneous imagination. He never runs out of ideas.
Such is his high sense of creativity and wealth of ideas and talent that he is the brain behind a number of hilarious Radio Adverts including, among others, City Tyres, Giant Eagle and Property Masters.
An early riser, Seguya reports at the station by 6:00am. His studio work begins at 6:30am with Mulengera Express and ends at 10:00am. This schedule does not stress him out because Seguya, born in a family of 10, has known little else than drama all his life.
“I have acted since my childhood,†says the dramatist who, as a teenager abandoned Mayungwe Church of Uganda Primary School to come to Kampala to work as a houseboy.
He later worked as a hawker in the bus park, formed several drama groups, which later collapsed before he joined radio.
He ventured in different sections of drama. Scratching here and there, looking for some money to survive. He has finally settled but, like most people, still remains financially restless.
“My job is alright. My pay is good but not enough,†he said.
“Sometimes his jokes are annoying and embarrassing but I try to understand that he is making ends meet,†said Robinah, his fiancee.
For a 30-year-old, Seguya has worn as many hats as he has won hearts, his impending marriage to Robinah Nakalanzi is yet another one in the waiting. We shall be waiting and listening.
CHANCES are that you don’t know him that much. Even though he has occasionally appeared on live TV shows, his identity remains somewhat a mystery to many, yet his humourous stints and raw Rwandese accent meet no strange ears.
His name, soft voice, idle talk and laughter are a proverbial morning charm that keeps many upbeat for the day. Daily, his familiar voice reaches out to us in our bedrooms or in the taxi/car on our way to work through radio. Like a shadow, he apparently follows us everywhere.
Before he walks down the aisle on Saturday, May 8 at Rubaga Cathedral and later hosts, what is perhaps going to be a ‘national’ wedding reception at Namboole stadium, we unravel the mystery man whose popularity among kids flows as deep among adults.
Who is this person who does not try so hard to get everybody laughing at his jokes? From the way he strolls around the green gardens of Bulange Mengo, the building that houses his work place, Central Broadcasting Station (CBS), it is easy to pass him up for a confused visitor!
Kayibanda’s youthful portrait grapples to reconcile with that imaginary portrait of an idiosyncratic trouble-infested Rwandese peasant on 88.8 CBS’s morning show, Bwakedde Mpulira.
Neither does it measure up with the vicious and uncompromising policeman in Bumali, a crime watch comedy. His bubbly vocal character during the fun-factual presentation of Budolindo news bulletin (Amawulire Agafa e Budolindo) on the same station is a far cry from his surprisingly withdrawn nature.
The short and stout 30-year-old comedian, who also features on WBS’s Late Show, cuts an image of a coy, unassuming young man. He is so meek; you could explicably dismiss him as boring.
But his astonishing sense of humour on radio will keep you chuckling like a fool the entire day, the potency of which profoundly lies in his baffling Rwandese accent.
Recently, during the morning show, he narrated how he struggled to feed his malnourished kid with a plate of RAW beans on “doctor’s adviceâ€! The doctor’s advice was “feed the child with FRESH beans.â€
Weeks before that, he featured on WBS’s Late Show, literally lumping sh1000 notes on his mobile phone handset in a vain attempt to load airtime! Jokes they were, like all others, silly and funny. That is Kayibanda.
If anyone knows his true name, it probably is his family and himself.
“Kayibanda is a name I got when I joined CBS. My true name is Godfrey Seguya,†he explained.
“SEGUYA! How the hell do you manage to work well around the Kinyarwanda accent,†we asked.
“My mother was a Munyarwanda,†he replies.
“Oh, so you are actually speak fluent Kinyarwanda,†we asked.
“No, I only know how to ask for food,†he jokes.
For a person whose voice we have long heard over the radio and whose face we occasionally see on TV, Kayibanda’s identity arouses a sense of curiosity, an unquenchable desire in so many of his fans that crave to see the man behind all this circus.
From his high-pitched tone, rib breaking jokes and rattling laughter that we hear over the airwaves, he creates an impression of a jolly, happy-go lucky chap, one who makes fun not only of himself but also of others. But spend a few minutes with him and you will find a shocking side to his personality.
For the first five minutes of our meeting, he looked undecided about whether to talk to us or not. He maintained a placid demeanour - neither showing happiness nor sadness. His attention is divided between his constantly ringing Sony mobile phone and friends, who keep annoyingly interrupting the interview.
One of his friends asks him for sh1000. He calmly and yet seriously tells him, “go sell your car tyres.†Considering our interests, we found the answer apt!
There is an air of restlessness around him as he keeps adjusting his white zipped jumper and yellow black and yellow Wrigley P.K cap shielding his face. When he finally makes up his mind to talk to us, he does it in a hush tone.
“I have never had any formal training in radio,†reveals the comedian, whose first radio experience was in 1999 when he beat 100 contestants in a screaming contest to win a slot on Radio Simba’s health show, Olugyegere lweby’obulamu (the health chain). Since then, he has never looked back.
“In 2001 a friend of mine, Peter Sendi, introduced me to Top Radio. While there, Umar Mufumba, then programme director, asked me to spice up an advert using different local languages. The one in Kinywaranda was the best,†he boasts.
Mufumba was so captivated with Sseguya’s mastery of Kinyarwanda that he slotted the comedian’s voice into an early morning show. The slot code named Minaani featured Seguya speaking a mixture of Luganda and Kinyarwanda.
The young man’s vast talent enthralled Mufumba. When Mufumba left Top Radio, later in 2001 to join CBS, he pegged Seguya to himself. They moved together. Fortunately, then, Atibu Muhammad, who had been doing the Kayibanda slot on CBS had resigned.
“I talked to Abbey Mukiibi the CBS programme director and told him. ‘Look, I know someone who can do this slot a hundred times better than the person who has been doing it’,†explains Mufumba, a presenter with CBS.
Within a few months of his jokes and Rwandese twang, Kayibanda Sseguya had become a darling of many CBS listeners who swarm him whenever they sniff his presence.
“Sometimes I spend 40 minutes in a place that I would otherwise spend five,†he said. “But I cannot send them away because they are the people who made me what I am. In fact, I am in a crisis over who I should invite for my wedding.â€
At the beginning of the interview, Berna Nabuyondo, a 10-year-old fan, offered sh1000 to Kayibanda.
“He is very funny. I listen to him everyday while at home and at school,†she said.
So impeccable is his accent that people engage in heated debates as to whether he is or not a Rwandese.
“I’m a Muganda,†he reveals. “My late father, Adolf Lubega, hailed from Jumbi in Mpigi District. And like I said earlier, it is my late mother, Azida Nakate, who was Rwandese.â€
His popularity shot when he took on Bumali, the Budolindo news bulletin (Amawulire Agafa e Budolindo) and the drama stint on WBS’s Late Show, thanks to his wealth of ideas which he says spring from anywhere and everywhere.
From the crowd of fans that swarm him in down town Kampala to the careless street talk that goes around, his source of inspiration lies therein.
“My flow of ideas depends on my moods. But money is my driving force. It dictates my mood,†he jokes. “Sometimes I go to the studio blank. But as soon as Abu Kawenja, my co-presenter, puts me on air, the ideas spontaneously strike,†he adds.
“Sometimes I have no idea what this guy is going to say,†says Kawenja. He startles me with his spontaneous imagination. He never runs out of ideas.
Such is his high sense of creativity and wealth of ideas and talent that he is the brain behind a number of hilarious Radio Adverts including, among others, City Tyres, Giant Eagle and Property Masters.
An early riser, Seguya reports at the station by 6:00am. His studio work begins at 6:30am with Mulengera Express and ends at 10:00am. This schedule does not stress him out because Seguya, born in a family of 10, has known little else than drama all his life.
“I have acted since my childhood,†says the dramatist who, as a teenager abandoned Mayungwe Church of Uganda Primary School to come to Kampala to work as a houseboy.
He later worked as a hawker in the bus park, formed several drama groups, which later collapsed before he joined radio.
He ventured in different sections of drama. Scratching here and there, looking for some money to survive. He has finally settled but, like most people, still remains financially restless.
“My job is alright. My pay is good but not enough,†he said.
“Sometimes his jokes are annoying and embarrassing but I try to understand that he is making ends meet,†said Robinah, his fiancee.
For a 30-year-old, Seguya has worn as many hats as he has won hearts, his impending marriage to Robinah Nakalanzi is yet another one in the waiting. We shall be waiting and listening.