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Fans mourn Ugandan music star Sammy Kasule
Ugandan musician Sammy Kasule who died on Tuesday evening in Amsterdam, Holland.
Fans and counterparts of veteran Ugandan musician Sammy Kasule are still in mourning following his death on Tuesday evening in Amsterdam, Holland. The mercurial guitarist and composer was on transit from Kampala to Sweden when he collapsed and died at the Amsterdam Airport.
According to a family source, Kasule was travelling to Stockholm from Kampala, to seek medical treatment.
Speaking to the Saturday Nation on Thursday, his Sweden-based counterpart, Dekula Kahanga, said they were still awaiting for the funeral arrangements from Kasule's family.
“We have been regularly performing together in Stockholm where I also have permanent residence and it is where he is likely to be buried,” Dekula said.
Kasule who had returned to perform in Uganda since 2014, had acquired Swedish citizenship. He relocated from Kenya to Sweden in 1985 with his wife Marie Wandaka and their two children.
Fans of Kasule will recall the “Marie Wandaka” popular song which he dedicated to his wife. The song was released while he was with the Nairobi- based Somajeko International Band in 1978.
He joined the group after earlier stints with Les Noirs and later Special Liwanza Band.
Other popular songs by Somajeko Band where Kasule featured on the vocals include: Uzima, “Nimevumilia’ and, “Riziki ni Kama Ajali”
After Somajeko, Kasule later joined the Nairobi-based Makonde Band in 1978. The band was led by Greece-born Taso Stephanou.
Among the highlights of his career was in 1985 when he was among the founding members of the Vundumuna Band in Nairobi.
This was the same year he relocated to Sweden to pursue a solo career in music.
Them Mushrooms band leader John Katana said he had spoken to Kasule’s colleague, Moses Matovu, of the Afrigo Band who confirmed that Kasule had travelled to Sweden for treatment when the tragedy occurred.
US-based Congolese musician Samba Omar Mapangala is among those who eulogised Kasule.
“I had engaged him in a production of a song to feature on my next album,” Mr Mapangala said.
Congolese music composer Mose Fan Fan who died in Nairobi in 2019.
Meanwhile, the second anniversary since the death of Congolese legendary guitarist and composer Mose Fan Fan (Se Sengo) of the ‘Papa Lolo” hit song fame will be marked on Monday.
Mose, who collapsed and died in Nairobi in May 2019, was on a production tour of some of his new and old songs including a remix of ‘Djemelasi’.
The song ‘Djemelasi’ was dedicated to his first wife Sidonie Djemelas who lives in Kinshasa.
Mose produced the song while with the legendary TP OK Jazz band led by Franco Luambo Makiadi in 1974. Nairobi-based producer Tabu Osusa said they would release the remix of “Djemelas” online on May 3.
