The man who rocks Kampala

Feb 25, 2008

MALCOLM Muyiimba, the man behind the Most Wanted show on Touch FM, has attracted countless smiles and built a huge fan base, especially from rock music lovers in Uganda. This has made his show one of the biggest contributors to rock music’s popularity in Uganda.

By Eric Mununuzi

MALCOLM Muyiimba, the man behind the Most Wanted show on Touch FM, has attracted countless smiles and built a huge fan base, especially from rock music lovers in Uganda. This has made his show one of the biggest contributors to rock music’s popularity in Uganda.

The Most Wanted show is one of the favourites with Touch FM’s fan base, thanks to Malcolm. “It is a request show about playing the most wanted songs. I play what the listeners want,” explains Malcom, adding that: “Interestingly, it is the listeners, and not the radio management, who have turned the Most Wanted show into a rock show. Over 97% of the songs requested for are rock.”

Listeners request for songs through phone calls, text messages or e-mails.
For a famous radio presenter, Malcom is not a mysterious personality. He says Malcolm the presenter is not any different from the one outside the studio.
“I am laid-back, but not shy.

I like watching movies and that is how I spend most of my weekends. I love reading and watching rugby and basketball matches. However, I am not much of a soccer person. I am into rock music and my favourite artistes range from the likes of Bon Jovi to Linkin Park and Led Zeppelin.”

Malcom says he derives some of his inspiration from Chris Moyle of the Chris Moyle Show on UK’s Radio One, especially because of his wit. Undertaking public relations is also one of his passions and he would like to venture into it after radio.

But it is not all rosy for Malcom. The job comes with numerous challenges “especially since you do not know what it will be like with each new day.” “It does not matter whether you are sick or not. You just have to be on call all the time, even on public holidays,” he says though without a trace of chagrin.

At least he has never received any words of contempt or hate. Even with the challenges, there are things he loves most about the show. “I love the music especially when a listener calls in and requests for a song. I also love it when a listener calls to thank me for a song, saying I have made their day.”

Apart from the Most Wanted show, Malcom also runs the Strictly ‘90’s show on Saturday from 7am to 10am. He has also ventured into something other than radio. Together with his brother, Moses Magezi, they run an entertainment shop on William Street called Jamo Music and Videos.

For the ladies, it is a red light because a lucky lady is already in possession of the most wanted man’s heart. In his own words, he is “seeing someone.”
Malcolm’s passion for radio started when he was in Senior Two. “I used to look up to guys like Alex ( of Capital FM) and Roger Mugisha (of KFM),” he narrates.

“Radio was my focus. I used to listen to such guys with awe,” he adds.
Malcom first applied to work with Touch FM in 2003 when he was studying for a diploma in mass communication.

He joined the station in December where he presented a late night show from midnight to the wee hours of the morning. After about two months, Malcolm was moved to the Most Wanted show at the time the station was being officially launched. It ran for four hours, from 10:00am to 2:00pm.

In 2005, he switched to Power FM. “I started doing a drive time show in September and it ran from 3:00pm to 7:00pm,” he remembers. In April 2006, he switched back to the Most Wanted show which now runs for two hours (10:00am to midday).

If he was president of Uganda for a day, he would do away with the vice that irks him the most — corruption. “A day would not even be enough because it is so rampant in this country.”

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