Bizarre showbiz tales from Uganda -some fail and some succeeding
April 5th, 2009
From top left: Radio and Weasel, Rachel K, Bobi Wine, Ragga Dee and Obsessions group.
OBSESSIONS
Endorsement Lost
One of the major sources of income for the artistes in Uganda is endorsements. Most of them have been endorsed by leading corporate firms in Uganda. Obsessions’ contract with MTN ended sometime last year and has not been renewed.
MTN Uganda, which has an entertainment retainership contract with the top acts, dropped the all-girl group of singers cum actresses after they carried out their annual research and review.
This means that Obsessions, who enjoyed a retainer contract with the telecommunication giant, will now be hustling for sponsors in any of their events and are now free to perform at any event.
Last year, it was Jose Chameleone whose contract expired and MTN refused to renew it. MTN public relations manager, Sheila Kangwagye, confirms that, indeed, Obsessions’ fallouts and album flop largely contributed to their losing the endorsement deal with MTN.
Obsessions manager/founding member Ronnie Mulindwa also confirmed that the girls had lost the deal. “We lost the endorsement that we had with MTN but life has to move on. We’re working hard to get to the top again and maybe we will land another one,” he added.
Weasal and Mozey Radio are the new kids on the block enjoying MTN endorsement.
RAGGA DEE
Land Dispute
Arguably one of the most successful Ugandan acts, with two decades in the music industry, a record 20 albums and a career that has churned out 172 hits, there is no doubt that Ragga Dee is versatile and innovative. But even after buying a Cadillac recently and flossing around Kampala, Ragga Dee is not at peace at all.
He has fallen victim to the rampant land-related scams that have hit Kampala recently. The business minded Ragga Dee is very anxious about a prime piece of land he bought about 10 miles from the city centre in Makindye-Sabagabo sub-county, Wakiso district.
Apparently, after he paid for the land, the Ndigida singer erected a road sign ‘Ragga Dee drive’ on the adjacent access road. This sparked off queries from residents about the bona fide ownership of the land.
Following the queries, the singer reportedly rushed to Mengo, the seat of Buganda Kingdom, to secure a lease and silence his critics.At Mengo he was told that the land belonged to one Kaganda and not Mengo.
Kaganda, according to Buganda Land Board officials, holds the title for the land where Ragga Dee acquired his land. Dee is still struggling to ensure he doesn’t lose the land as he plans to construct a hotel on it and even shipped in equipment and materials from the US early this year.
CHAMELEONE
Fights & Accidents
Controversy seems to be Jose Chameleone’s way of life and he loves it even when he is not well. The Mama Mia singer, who is now on crutches after his Arusha hotel accident, is not medically fit for anything leave alone concerts but has gone ahead to defy doctors’ advice that he gets enough rest.
Forget about the Arusha accident that occurred in October last year where the singer claims to have sleepwalked through a window.
Chameleone has been in three more “accidents” after that one. The first one occurred in January 14 and involved him and a Kampala city business man Meddie Ssentongo who allegedly roughed him up and went on to sue him for assault and hitting his car. Before the accident, the two reportedly had a fist fight that saw the singer’s face swollen.
Their fight is said to have started at Club Silk before they were thrown out and later on took to the no-contest bout few metres away from the nightclub. The third one involved his car and another one at Zana along Entebbe Highway, just a month after he was admitted at Kololo Hospital after another accident where he sustained severe injuries.
According to police, the incident happened at around midnight when Chameleone, who was driving his Mercedes Benz car with a personalised number MAYANJA, was hit by a speeding Suzuki at Zana roundabout. Chameleone was coming from his home in Seguku heading to the city when the other car rammed into his car, police said.
Chameleone is also claimed to have knocked his brother’s Suzuki car. “Chameleon knocked my car early last month and drove off. He was in his Mercedes Benz ML class and when I tried to call him he never picked up,” said his brother.
BEBE COOL
Debts, Marital Woes and Fights
Bebe Cool is not having it cool. Whereas his counterparts and sworn enemies like Bobi Wine, Chameleone and even new acts like Weasal and Radio are thriving well financially, Bebe Cool may be feeling the credit crunch that has hit the global economy.
Three weeks ago, his top of the range car (Read Range Rover 4.6 HSE1994 model) was confiscated allegedly over debts and he was ordered to surrender it as a surety to a Kampala court.
Bebe was arrested by court bailiffs in Ntinda on orders of a shylock and arraigned in court. The reggae singer survived prison by a whisker when he entered an agreement with the money lender, including staking his 1994 Range Rover as collateral.
As if that is not enough, Cool is still a lonely man after his estranged wife Zuena Kirema refused to return to her marital home. What initially looked like a publicity stunt is now serious business.
Four months down the line, Bebe Cool is still single after the mother of his two children, Alpha and Biata, walked out on him. The singer, who even did a song to convince her to return, has been spending lonely nights at a new house he rented after he surrendered his two-bedroom one to Zuena.
There were even rumours that Zuena wanted divorce. Sources close to Bebe say he did something that really hurt the former Zipa model and her family and that is why she is not giving him a second chance. Bebe married Zuena in a civil ceremony, four years ago.
Away from the marriage, Bebe Cool has been at the spotlight fighting whoever steps on his toes. Early in February, the reggae singer was involved in three fights in one night. He is alleged to have attacked Eyecon magazine editor Robert Walakira at Hotel Africana after Walakira ran a story on how the musician’s UK concert flopped.
At popular Club Sway, Bebe is facing a ban after he allegedly broke bottles and caused a stir at the same night spot as he tried to fight Jenkins Mukasa for “spreading rumours” about him.
Bebe also banged a car belonging to a man only called Latim accusing him of fuelling a hate campaign against his family that led to the separation between him and Zuena.
BOBI WINE
Lost Property and Fallouts
The Ghetto President might not be a common man in Kamokya nowadays and is said to have moved base to a not so ghetto neighbourhood in Bukoto, just behind the famous Kabira country club.
But he refuted the claims and said: “I’ve widened the ghetto not moved from it.” When Owino market was burnt down, Bobi Wine was amongst the people who lost property.
The singer who is also a businessman lost property of unknown value in the fire that also brought down seven shops that he had rented out. Even as he visited the market to donate over Sh400,000 to the traders, the singer was at pains too, as his other source of income was gone.
That aside, Bobi Wine fell out with his brother Eddie Yawe and even moved to set up his own recording studio, Fire Base Records, plus he has poached producer Paddy from Dream studios that is owned by his brother.
The two are said to have fallen out over monetary issues and power struggle at the former studio that is believed to have made Bobi Wine.
WEASAL & RADIO
Club Ban
Weasal and Radio might be the biggest and hottest musicians in Uganda at the moment but that does not guarantee them entry at the famous Ange Noir club. The two were banned from the nightclub after the management claimed that the two had caused mayhem and disturbed peace at the joint.
Radio told Buzz that the ban was wrong as they never fought anyone as alleged. “We were talking to the club owner Charles Lubega when the fight was going on. But the bouncer claimed it was Weasal who had fought and demanded that we leave the place.
Later on we got a letter banning us from attending that joint including perfomances,” he said. The two are signed at another night spot, The High Table, where they perform every Monday.
source,nation.ke