It is exactly four years ago today that this writer received a forwarded message on WhatsApp from a Ugandan friend, journalist Jacobs Odongo Seaman, about Sammy Kasule's death. The message came in a few minutes after the death of veteran journalist Philip Ochieng was made public by his family, making that day a black Tuesday.

The message read that Ugandan musician Sammy Kasule had died in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Sammy Kasule had fallen sick and was traveling abroad to Sweden to seek treatment, but when the plane stopped in Amsterdam, it was assessed that his condition had deteriorated, necessitating immediate medical attention in the Netherlands. He died a few days later.

Kasule Sammy, a gifted bassist who played a unique six-stringed bass guitar, was also a prolific composer and vocalist who made a name in Nairobi during the golden era when the city had a vibrant music industry that attracted musicians throughout the region and garnered a global audience.
Born in Uganda in 1952, Kasule improvised his guitar at age ten, inspired by Congolese musicians of the 1960s. At the time, he was still a primary school student at Kibuli Primary School.

His mother (who died three years ago) was unamused. She destroyed the instrument, but that did not subdue the budding musical ambitions of young Kasule. Many parents in that era, and even today, discourage their children from associating with music due to the popular misconception that it is linked to delinquency.

He joined secondary school and later attended Light College Katikamu, both in Kampala. He debuted in music in 1969 when he joined a local band, Kawumba Band, which played at a bar called New Life. He stayed with the band for three years. With political instability in Uganda, young Kasule shifted base to Kenya, where he joined a Congolese music outfit based in Nairobi called Le Noir, headed by war veteran Chuza Kabaselle, in 1973. He remained with the band until 1977, when he quit and joined another Congolese band, Special Liwanza of Lola Shango, as documented by Alastair Johnston in his Muzikifan blog.

In 1978, he became part of the Somajeko International Band and a year later joined the team that created the Makonde Band, led by Greece-born Taso Stephanou. He also performed with the Talents Band in Nairobi before finally settling at Vundumuna. He composed several hit songs during this era, including Maria Wandaka, Kitoobero, Shauri Yako (English version), among many others. The music industry in Nairobi was highly fluid at the time, and he played with numerous bands, both as a member and a guest musician. Among the most notable was Lunna Kidi of Ochieng Kabaselle, who played bass on the song Milicento, with Frantal Tabou, on solo.

In 1984, alongside Frantal Tabou, he co-founded Orchestra Vundumuna. Kasule traveled to Japan on a musical sojourn in the late 1980s before settling in Sweden, where he established his musical home for over three decades, performing with his band Makonde, which specialized in Congolese rumba and Afro-Cuban music.

Two years ago, he relocated back home to Kampala, where he remained actively involved in music and even released a new album. He had contacted this writer to inquire about securing a recording deal in Nairobi, and this writer shared the contact information of veteran producer Tabu Osusa of Ketebul in Nairobi.

Kasule, a citizen of the world, is arguably more renowned in Kenya than Uganda. His former colleague Frantal Tabou mourned his death, describing him as a talented and dedicated musician. He is survived by his widow, Mary Wandaka, and two sons. Mary is the woman immortalized in his song of the same title. Apart from Frida Sonko, who recorded with Equator Sounds of Nairobi in the 1960s, Kampala did not boast a music industry as robust as Nairobi or Dar es Salaam, leaving the country with few widely recognized musicians. Sammy Kasule remains one of Uganda’s most celebrated artists. 

NOTE: Sammy Kasule Is Not To Be Confused With Kasule Mopepe, also a Ugandan, who Played With Orchestre Les Kinois.

By Jerome Ogola

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