Blindness did not make him beg
Being blind, Kampala’s most celebrated solo artiste Peter Mugwaba saw no reason to beg on the streets. Before settling in the city, Mugwaba sang in 30 towns, free of charge.
By Titus Kakembo
Being blind, Kampala’s most celebrated solo artiste Peter Mugwaba saw no reason to beg on the streets. Before settling in the city, Mugwaba sang in 30 towns, free of charge.
Silence now hangs on the city streets where he used to entertain the hectic passers-by.
Mugwaba mysteriously vanished without begging for a penny for his final trip to his creator. Four years have elapsed without his hymns sizzling from his accordion next to Radio One FM station.
He is no more at his four stages; Radio One, Pioneer Mall, the Main Post Office and China Great Wall Restaurant.
Yes, many passers-by miss that sweet accordion sound they once took for granted as it out-competed for their ears with cars, touts and hawkers. The silence of the harmonious tunes is loud.
Adventurous in his youth, Mugwaba left Bugunti village in Mbale to build a life as a blind man.
In his musical world, he was a man of no mean achievements on life’s highway. He was often invited to churches all over Kampala including All Saints Cathedral, Nakasero, Bugolobi Church of Uganda and St Stephen’s Church, Luzira.
Commuters on board the Luzira Maximum Prison’s bus always shuttled him to town and back home every evening at 4:00pm.
And always in his company was a 13-year-old brother, known only as Robert, who kept a distance with a watchful eye at the collections, lest thieves snatch his day’s earnings.
With a family of two daughters and their blind mother Agnes in Mbale, Mugwaba sustained them ably by sending money every month.
Against all odds, he opted to do what he did best — play the accordion all day. Passers-by would dig into their pockets for loose cash to give him. That is what kept him singing non-stop, come rain or shine.
Born in Mbale, Mugwaba enrolled at Nabumali School for the blind. That is where his voice was noticed slicing through the air like a hot knife through butter.
That voice was to become the accompanying vocals as he played the accordion. He perfected his skills to the extent that he could play any piece he desired. That is how he took Kampala by storm when he pitched camp here.
“This accordion belongs to Nabumali, I will have to buy my own, so that I return this one to them,†he was quoted in a New Vision profile in 1996. Nabumali meant mountains to him. It is there that he stumbled into his wife Agnes, “who is also blind like me and hails from Moroto,†he said. It was love at the first encounter.
“The parish helped him to organise and marry her.†He never looked to others to sustain him. All he did was play his church hymns, producing sharp notes that tore through the din of motorists and pedestrians.
Passers-by would often take a second glance on having their ears kissed by the tunes. He had no bowl or guide to collect the tokens of appreciation from pedestrians.
These collections were sent to his budding family back home through his uncle, Peter Makathi. Agnes then bought iron sheets in a bid to construct a permanent house.
Being blind, Kampala’s most celebrated solo artiste Peter Mugwaba saw no reason to beg on the streets. Before settling in the city, Mugwaba sang in 30 towns, free of charge.
Silence now hangs on the city streets where he used to entertain the hectic passers-by.
Mugwaba mysteriously vanished without begging for a penny for his final trip to his creator. Four years have elapsed without his hymns sizzling from his accordion next to Radio One FM station.
He is no more at his four stages; Radio One, Pioneer Mall, the Main Post Office and China Great Wall Restaurant.
Yes, many passers-by miss that sweet accordion sound they once took for granted as it out-competed for their ears with cars, touts and hawkers. The silence of the harmonious tunes is loud.
Adventurous in his youth, Mugwaba left Bugunti village in Mbale to build a life as a blind man.
In his musical world, he was a man of no mean achievements on life’s highway. He was often invited to churches all over Kampala including All Saints Cathedral, Nakasero, Bugolobi Church of Uganda and St Stephen’s Church, Luzira.
Commuters on board the Luzira Maximum Prison’s bus always shuttled him to town and back home every evening at 4:00pm.
And always in his company was a 13-year-old brother, known only as Robert, who kept a distance with a watchful eye at the collections, lest thieves snatch his day’s earnings.
With a family of two daughters and their blind mother Agnes in Mbale, Mugwaba sustained them ably by sending money every month.
Against all odds, he opted to do what he did best — play the accordion all day. Passers-by would dig into their pockets for loose cash to give him. That is what kept him singing non-stop, come rain or shine.
Born in Mbale, Mugwaba enrolled at Nabumali School for the blind. That is where his voice was noticed slicing through the air like a hot knife through butter.
That voice was to become the accompanying vocals as he played the accordion. He perfected his skills to the extent that he could play any piece he desired. That is how he took Kampala by storm when he pitched camp here.
“This accordion belongs to Nabumali, I will have to buy my own, so that I return this one to them,†he was quoted in a New Vision profile in 1996. Nabumali meant mountains to him. It is there that he stumbled into his wife Agnes, “who is also blind like me and hails from Moroto,†he said. It was love at the first encounter.
“The parish helped him to organise and marry her.†He never looked to others to sustain him. All he did was play his church hymns, producing sharp notes that tore through the din of motorists and pedestrians.
Passers-by would often take a second glance on having their ears kissed by the tunes. He had no bowl or guide to collect the tokens of appreciation from pedestrians.
These collections were sent to his budding family back home through his uncle, Peter Makathi. Agnes then bought iron sheets in a bid to construct a permanent house.