Today we are going to be speaking English…[turning to Fatboy:] Can you speak Luganda?
No! Unfortunately no. I am so ashamed to say.
Okay; I am with Fatboy, real name…?
James Onen.
So, which year did you join the radio?
1999.
And you’ve only worked with Sanyu?
I actually worked here [the interview was at KFM] when it was still called Monitor FM, in the programming department in 2003 [Onen also hosted a relationships show on the radio, featuring Denis Asiimwe, Carolyne Nakazibwe and Rhona Nassanga]. But from 1999 to 2001, I was at Sanyu and left for the advertising world. It was not for me; so, I left and joined Monitor FM from 2003 to 2004. Then I rejoined Sanyu FM and that’s where I have been since.
And now are you joining KFM?
When your team put up the promotional poster for the interview today, a lot of people thought I was joining KFM, but the intention of coming here today was to hang out with Brian [Mulondo] on his show which was so much fun. But well, it is not something I have given a lot of thought to, yet. Everything happened so fast. I got fired on Wednesday, today is Friday…
At Sanyu FM you were literally the star…now they say you led the sit-down strike.
A hundred per cent false. I was the highest-earning presenter. If a pay cut were to be effected, I could deal with it. It was a minor inconvenience for sure, compared to my colleagues.Â
Why would I be the one leading the strike? I’m not even married, I don’t have kids; my mother is comfortable…my money is for me personally. [During Mulondo’s breakfast show on KFM, Onen said he does not believe in marriage and does not plan to ever marry. He says his only dependant is his dog, Rukia. He is also a very vocal atheist.]
So, what happened?
All of us were going to keep working and we were continuing to come to work, until the management told us not to come to work.
It is the managers who were telling us, ‘hey guys, don’t go to work’. We had accepted the pay cuts grudgingly, hoping for a reversal in the future…but our managers told us not to come. They wanted to leverage the power of the consensus and be able to go to the owners and say, ‘see…?’
Why then have you been singled out?
I speculate it is because I immediately announced my departure on social media. My other colleagues were trying to talk to management to give them back their jobs.
Were you in good books with the bosses?
Yes! I was very loyal to the company, I devoted many years of my life to them… the only thing that changed in the last few months is the change of [guards] in the company. The son of Sudhir [Ruparelia] – Rajiv – they made him more involved in the running of the station and once he got involved, we started seeing a lot of these tensions.
The recent happenings really suggest that [Rajiv] is somebody who is impulsive. I think this mess is his doing. The managers told us not to go to work. They are our supervisors. Later, the same people sent us notices of termination after telling us not to go to work…[laughs.]
I will blame Rajiv for the recklessness; I’ll blame the management for engineering this disaster, which was avoidable. It was a gamble they lost. Perhaps the owners decided to get one step ahead and order our termination. I feel there was a power play going on between the management and the owners, and the presenters ended up paying the price.
What next?
Had my departure been more planned, I would have a clearer plan on what to do next. I will rest for now, then on Monday I will start looking at my diaries and look at my possible options.
Thank you for your time. It is my first time talking to you, and I must say it has been an honour. You have been doing some good work.
Thank you!
– As transcribed from Kasuku Live.
