Who will touch the hearts?
Sep 15, 2009
IF those who die would look back to see who has escorted their bodies to the graves, honestly, the late Capital FM presenter, Ronnie Sempangi would be one of the happiest among the dead! And if the number of people who attend one’s funeral is an indicat
By Pidson Kareire
IF those who die would look back to see who has escorted their bodies to the graves, honestly, the late Capital FM presenter, Ronnie Sempangi would be one of the happiest among the dead! And if the number of people who attend one’s funeral is an indication of the deceased’s popularity, then it is safe to say DJ Ronnie, as Sempangi was popularly known, was one of the most popular Ugandans.
Thousands of mourners — radio presenters, top musicians, politicians and socialites braved the hot afternoon sun on Sunday to pay their last respects to the fallen presenter.
At Nanziga, Mpigi district about 4km off Kampala-Masaka Road, where his body was laid to rest, the mourners used all sorts of adjectives and superlatives to describe the late DJ.
His father, Jackson Kakembo, is a doctor by profession while his son was a self-proclaimed doctor of love, who touched several lonely hearts! Clearly, at just 36, he has gone too soon.
The “Love Doctor†as he was referred to by a section of his listeners, DJ Ronnie was voted the best radio presenter at the Annual Broadcast Forum Awards. Through his Late Date Show, he confessed to have helped over 1,000 lonely people find love through his match-making session on the show. He had them all documented in three black books.
“DJ Ronnie had a unique ability of using radio to reach his fans and audience to make them respond to his messages. It was amazing how people would confide in him and tell him their trials and triumphs all on air. He was indeed a doctor of the airwaves. Rest in peace,†said Julius Mucunguzi, spokesperson for Africa at the Commonwealth Secretariat, London.
He always found words to please his listeners and his fans. On his show, he had another session called Pillow Talk; a conversation involving two lovers on bedroom matters, which became so popular among his fans.
I first met DJ Ronnie in November, 2005, and I called him “doctor†in apparent reference to the name he had assumed and went ahead to inquire how that affected his private life.
‘This “doctor†thing exaggerates what I actually do but I am growing into the role. But privately, I am different.†he responded. He insinuated that people, his girlfriend inclusive, had formed opinions about him playing match-maker on radio.
Apart from his show, DJ Ronnie operated a mobile disco and did voice-overs for company adverts. All this work was done at night. The radio show ran also ran late into the night. He told me he slept for only three hours at night. However, he said he compensated during the day.
After our conversation, it was apparent that Ronnie loved what he did. He told me his favourite time of day was always in the evening when he was presenting his show. Even if he had had a quarrel, the moment he stepped into the studio, he would be in high spirits.
Ronnie described himself in three words: down to earth. Among all his friends, there was one friend he always admired; the late Bob Bashabe. “I lost the person I regarded as my best friend. Bashabe used to present this same show and my daughter is named after him,†he said. “A friend to me is someone who never stops surprising you and is there when you least expect him,†he said.
He was a catholic and always joked that his religion allowed them to have a little bit of alcohol for their health. In fact his favourite drink was Johnnie Walker! “If I was to stock my shelves at home, It would be with Johnnie Walker,’ he once intimated to me.
He is suspected to have taken adulterated alcoholic drink Although the doctors at Kadic Hospital say that Ronnie died of multiple organ failure, a colleague who spent Ronnie’s last night with him in Nansana says the cause could be adulterated spirit (alcohol) he always took. Ronnie and his colleagues reportedly drank their favourite drink; Johnnie Walker while in Nansana. When it got finished in the wee hours they asked the barman to give them anything, as one for the road. The barman reportedly poured the alcohol in glasses and they gulped it and drove awa.
His best friend and mentor, Roger Mugisha, now a presenter at KFM, says Ronnie was blind for almost the whole of Friday until he passed away. “What else could have caused such sudden blindness? I suspect he drank adulterated alcohol,†Mugisha says.
Mugisha met Ronnie at Sanyu FM in 1998. At that point, DJ Ronnie, who was a student at Makerere University and had not yet started working. Shortly after, he took over the station’s lunch request show. Mugisha helped him fit in and got him started on the basics of radio. Unfortunately, Mugisha soon left Sanyu for Capital FM. However, their relationship remained intact even when they worked with rival radio stations. While at Capital FM, the management asked Mugisha to look for someone with a sobber mind to work with the late Allan the Cantankerous on the station’s Evening Drive Show. He did not hesitate to recommend DJ Ronnie, whom management readily accepted.
The two became close friends since then and when Mugisha started a dance group known as Shadow’s Angels; it was Ronnie who handled the auditions of the girls because he was good at choreography!
“He used to call me MJ and I would call him Kwazulu Natal because he loved that South African song known as Kwazulu Natal so much,†Mugisha says of late Ronnie. “He will always be Kwazulu Natal to me. I hadfun with him at Capital FM.â€
Ronnie was a great mathematician but with a passion for music. He studied commerce at Makerere University but never practiced it.
“My brain is mathematical. I am mathematically informed. I like figures. Give me a mathematical quiz and I will surprise you,†he always boasted.
Kakembo told mourners that Ronnie’s mother died while he sat for his Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) but they did not tell him until he completed his exams. He added that his son was brilliant and did not disturb him. “I was at first bitter with him when he chose to abandon his area of speciality for presenting on radio but later realised he was treading the right path and left him alone.â€
Kevin Masaba who was Ronnie’s producer for three years on the Late Date Show said: “I never saw Ronnie annoyed. The show sometimes had annoying callers but Ronnie never once lost his temper! He had such an attachment to that show that if he was not in the right mood, he would not work. He wanted everything to be perfect.â€
His former boss, former Capital FM programmes director, Bill Tibingana, echoes the same sentiments: “Ronnie was hard to annoy. I last spoke to him a week ago and had agreed to meet, but we never met because we were both busy. It is sad. I will miss him,†he said.
Ronnie was a diplomat; his approach to resolving conflicts was to tackle the problem from the root cause. He was also a very outgoing person. “He was a man of the people,†said Tibingana.
I once asked him what he found most offensive about people: “Bragging!†he responded rather quickly. “I do not like people who show off.â€
We always met in Wandegeya outside I Feel like Chicken Tonight, a popular fast food restaurant. Whereas I went for chicken, he would go for rolex (chapati and eggs), which he confessed he loved so much despite opposition from his girlfriend.
“For DJ Ronnie all I can say is RIP and I hope he had made peace with God before his passing,†Brenda Z’Obbo.
“DJ Ronnie was sensational; a team player, industrous, and loved children very much...we always shared jokes about me being too young to have a family. He normally called me into the studio as he was doing his show and we could crack jokes between his voice breaks. He is the best DJ we have had and he will always be my big brother,†said Roy Karugaba, a friend.
DJ Ronnie is survived by five children; two boys and three girls. He was organising a wedding in December this year. He had his introduction a few months ago.
IF those who die would look back to see who has escorted their bodies to the graves, honestly, the late Capital FM presenter, Ronnie Sempangi would be one of the happiest among the dead! And if the number of people who attend one’s funeral is an indication of the deceased’s popularity, then it is safe to say DJ Ronnie, as Sempangi was popularly known, was one of the most popular Ugandans.
Thousands of mourners — radio presenters, top musicians, politicians and socialites braved the hot afternoon sun on Sunday to pay their last respects to the fallen presenter.
At Nanziga, Mpigi district about 4km off Kampala-Masaka Road, where his body was laid to rest, the mourners used all sorts of adjectives and superlatives to describe the late DJ.
His father, Jackson Kakembo, is a doctor by profession while his son was a self-proclaimed doctor of love, who touched several lonely hearts! Clearly, at just 36, he has gone too soon.
The “Love Doctor†as he was referred to by a section of his listeners, DJ Ronnie was voted the best radio presenter at the Annual Broadcast Forum Awards. Through his Late Date Show, he confessed to have helped over 1,000 lonely people find love through his match-making session on the show. He had them all documented in three black books.
“DJ Ronnie had a unique ability of using radio to reach his fans and audience to make them respond to his messages. It was amazing how people would confide in him and tell him their trials and triumphs all on air. He was indeed a doctor of the airwaves. Rest in peace,†said Julius Mucunguzi, spokesperson for Africa at the Commonwealth Secretariat, London.
He always found words to please his listeners and his fans. On his show, he had another session called Pillow Talk; a conversation involving two lovers on bedroom matters, which became so popular among his fans.
I first met DJ Ronnie in November, 2005, and I called him “doctor†in apparent reference to the name he had assumed and went ahead to inquire how that affected his private life.
‘This “doctor†thing exaggerates what I actually do but I am growing into the role. But privately, I am different.†he responded. He insinuated that people, his girlfriend inclusive, had formed opinions about him playing match-maker on radio.
Apart from his show, DJ Ronnie operated a mobile disco and did voice-overs for company adverts. All this work was done at night. The radio show ran also ran late into the night. He told me he slept for only three hours at night. However, he said he compensated during the day.
After our conversation, it was apparent that Ronnie loved what he did. He told me his favourite time of day was always in the evening when he was presenting his show. Even if he had had a quarrel, the moment he stepped into the studio, he would be in high spirits.
Ronnie described himself in three words: down to earth. Among all his friends, there was one friend he always admired; the late Bob Bashabe. “I lost the person I regarded as my best friend. Bashabe used to present this same show and my daughter is named after him,†he said. “A friend to me is someone who never stops surprising you and is there when you least expect him,†he said.
He was a catholic and always joked that his religion allowed them to have a little bit of alcohol for their health. In fact his favourite drink was Johnnie Walker! “If I was to stock my shelves at home, It would be with Johnnie Walker,’ he once intimated to me.
He is suspected to have taken adulterated alcoholic drink Although the doctors at Kadic Hospital say that Ronnie died of multiple organ failure, a colleague who spent Ronnie’s last night with him in Nansana says the cause could be adulterated spirit (alcohol) he always took. Ronnie and his colleagues reportedly drank their favourite drink; Johnnie Walker while in Nansana. When it got finished in the wee hours they asked the barman to give them anything, as one for the road. The barman reportedly poured the alcohol in glasses and they gulped it and drove awa.
His best friend and mentor, Roger Mugisha, now a presenter at KFM, says Ronnie was blind for almost the whole of Friday until he passed away. “What else could have caused such sudden blindness? I suspect he drank adulterated alcohol,†Mugisha says.
Mugisha met Ronnie at Sanyu FM in 1998. At that point, DJ Ronnie, who was a student at Makerere University and had not yet started working. Shortly after, he took over the station’s lunch request show. Mugisha helped him fit in and got him started on the basics of radio. Unfortunately, Mugisha soon left Sanyu for Capital FM. However, their relationship remained intact even when they worked with rival radio stations. While at Capital FM, the management asked Mugisha to look for someone with a sobber mind to work with the late Allan the Cantankerous on the station’s Evening Drive Show. He did not hesitate to recommend DJ Ronnie, whom management readily accepted.
The two became close friends since then and when Mugisha started a dance group known as Shadow’s Angels; it was Ronnie who handled the auditions of the girls because he was good at choreography!
“He used to call me MJ and I would call him Kwazulu Natal because he loved that South African song known as Kwazulu Natal so much,†Mugisha says of late Ronnie. “He will always be Kwazulu Natal to me. I hadfun with him at Capital FM.â€
Ronnie was a great mathematician but with a passion for music. He studied commerce at Makerere University but never practiced it.
“My brain is mathematical. I am mathematically informed. I like figures. Give me a mathematical quiz and I will surprise you,†he always boasted.
Kakembo told mourners that Ronnie’s mother died while he sat for his Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) but they did not tell him until he completed his exams. He added that his son was brilliant and did not disturb him. “I was at first bitter with him when he chose to abandon his area of speciality for presenting on radio but later realised he was treading the right path and left him alone.â€
Kevin Masaba who was Ronnie’s producer for three years on the Late Date Show said: “I never saw Ronnie annoyed. The show sometimes had annoying callers but Ronnie never once lost his temper! He had such an attachment to that show that if he was not in the right mood, he would not work. He wanted everything to be perfect.â€
His former boss, former Capital FM programmes director, Bill Tibingana, echoes the same sentiments: “Ronnie was hard to annoy. I last spoke to him a week ago and had agreed to meet, but we never met because we were both busy. It is sad. I will miss him,†he said.
Ronnie was a diplomat; his approach to resolving conflicts was to tackle the problem from the root cause. He was also a very outgoing person. “He was a man of the people,†said Tibingana.
I once asked him what he found most offensive about people: “Bragging!†he responded rather quickly. “I do not like people who show off.â€
We always met in Wandegeya outside I Feel like Chicken Tonight, a popular fast food restaurant. Whereas I went for chicken, he would go for rolex (chapati and eggs), which he confessed he loved so much despite opposition from his girlfriend.
“For DJ Ronnie all I can say is RIP and I hope he had made peace with God before his passing,†Brenda Z’Obbo.
“DJ Ronnie was sensational; a team player, industrous, and loved children very much...we always shared jokes about me being too young to have a family. He normally called me into the studio as he was doing his show and we could crack jokes between his voice breaks. He is the best DJ we have had and he will always be my big brother,†said Roy Karugaba, a friend.
DJ Ronnie is survived by five children; two boys and three girls. He was organising a wedding in December this year. He had his introduction a few months ago.