WHo attacked Desire?
May 26, 2012
‘Last weekend, the entertainment scene was awash with reports that singer Desire Luzinda had been attacked by unknown assailants.The reports further indicated that she had been flown to Nairobi for treatment. But who could have been behind the attack?
By Isaac Baligema
‘Last weekend, the entertainment scene was awash with reports that singer Desire Luzinda had been attacked by unknown assailants.The reports further indicated that she had been flown to Nairobi for treatment. But who could have been behind the attack?
All through the week, singer Desire Luzinda’s Facebook wall has been flooded with sympathy messages from friends, fans and business associates following an alleged attack on her last Thursday. At by Unknown assailants attacked her along the Northern bypass, near Kyebando roundabout at about 7:30pm.
Facebook announcement
All this was “conveniently” communicated through the songbird’s Facebook page accompanied by pictures of a seemingly hurt Luzinda being wheeled into an ambulance. The caption simply read, “Desire attacked”. The news sparked o¬ a lot of discussion and social media sites have been awash with various accounts doing the rounds all week.
According to Mildred Kiwanuka, Luzinda’s manager, she was driving along Northern bypass from town to her home in Naalya and as she approached Shoprite Naalya, a crying woman stepped onto the road and stopped her.
How the attack happened “Without suspecting anything, she stopped to find out what was wrong with the woman. As soon as she got out, a car came from behind and blocked her way from the front and four assailants jumped out and pounced on her,” Kiwanuka said.
Kiwanuka says that had it not been for a boda boda cyclist, who recognised Luzinda and raised an alarm, the assailants might have probably done more harm.
The four men allegedly went into their car with the ‘helpless’ woman and sped off¬ , leaving the singer lying on the ground unconscious.
Surprisingly, that these assailants did not make away with any valuables, nor did they attack Desire’s sister, who was wailing all through the 10-minute ordeal.
Motive
This of course raises questions. Was this just another botched robbery? Could there be a sinister plot against the songstress? And if so, what would have motivated someone to attack a woman known and loved by many, also one of the country’s most photographed and sought-after by the press owing to her curves?
Could it have been a publicity stunt, especially seeing as Luzinda hasn’t been fodder for the entertainment pages lately? Could it have been a jilted woman whose lover has been running after Luzinda?
Rushed to Nsambya? Nairobi? Or India?
In response to the emergency, the singer was allegedly rushed to Nsambya Hospital, where she spent several hours on medication.
Doctors at Nsambya were not willing to divulge any information on Luzinda’s condition when she got to the hospital.
But caretakers who took time off ¬ their patients to see what was going on at the hospital said she didn’t have any visible scarring, unless, of course, the damage was internal.
An interesting chink in the armour was that her manager Kiwanuka, following numerous press inquiries and requests to lay eyes on Luzinda, lied that the Mubiite singer had been rushed to Nairobi for further treatment.
We tasked her to explain and she said she had to lie because she never wanted anyone, including her family members, to disturb Luzinda, for she was not in good condition for any interview.
“I told several reporters that she went to Nairobi because she needed to rest, and that was why her phone has been off¬ . She needs ample time to recover since the incident a¬ffected her,” Kiwanuka told Blitz.
She rubbished rumours that the singer might have faked the incident saying that anyone insinuating that must be out of their minds.
“Desire, at this level in her music career, cannot look for such cheap popularity, she is an established artiste, mother and businesswoman who cannot do such childish stuff .
Although we didn’t immediately report to the police, we have finally lodged the matter with Kira Division Police, under _ le reference: SD 47/21/05/2012. We won’t rest until those attackers are brought to book,” Kiwanuka said.
At the moment, Desire is said to be in India where she went for further treatment.
Who is Desire Luzinda?
Luzinda is probably known more for her bootylicious body and beauty than her music (even Mun*G has sung fantasising about her Jennifer Lopez body).
She is a half-Muganda and half-Munyankore and speaks both languages fluently. The fourth born in the family of six girls and a boy, Luzinda grew up in Makerere, Kampala and went to at Buganda Road Primary, Omega College for O’Level and Makerere High School for A’ Level.
In 2005, she gave birth to a daughter to whose father is city businessman, Ken Ntaro. Luzinda, however broke up with him shortly before enrolling at Uganda Martyr’s University, Nkozi, where she did a Bachelors degree in Micro Finance. She joined WBS television, where she presented an entertainment programme before joining the music industry.
To her name are big hits like Mubiite, Nina Omwami with Ngoni, Nyumirwa Nyo, Nkomyewo, Bingi and Mu bya Love. These are what raised her to diva status that some even compared her to Juliana in terms of talent. She has been linked to a string of men, including former Kampala Mayor Nasser Ntege Ssebaggala.
Luzinda after the alleged attack
Police involved later, why
After digging deep, it emerges that Desire never reported the incident to the Police or even make a statement. Kiwanuka, her manager, insists that she did not go to the Police to record a statement because she was attending to various issues including interviews with various media houses.
Plus, Kiwanuka and the singer say they have ever led a case with Police following an incident where someone called threatening Luzinda, but that the case wasn’t investigated, so they did nottake engaging with Police a priority, at least not when the bigger priority was making sure Luzinda was fine.