She is a singer, actress, fashionista, wife and mother. A former member of the once popular dance/drama group The Obsessions, she told Quick Talk how she juggles career and family.
How have you been, Hellen?
I have been good; still surviving.
What have you been up to lately?
I have mostly been in studio recording music, but I have also been doing a lot of acting. I have been shooting Mpeke Town from Jinja where we spent like three months. I am also acting in other series showing on Maisha Magic.
How do you balance the music, movies and fashion?
I don’t know; somehow I just find myself getting time. When I have to do music, I go to studio. When I have to do movies, I go to shoot. Everything has its own time. But I also have a good team of people, who are helping me. They plan and work right and schedule everything in its right time.
What do you enjoy doing the most?
All of them, although music is really enjoyable. But it also feels nice watching the movies I have done on TV and I am like, “Is that me?” So, it is difficult to choose.
You are now married with children. How has marriage changed your life?
Marriage has not changed my life; it has just modified it. When you love, you love 20 times more. When you fear, you fear 50 times more and when you get aggressive, you get aggressive 30 times more. I just see things from a different angle now. I wake up and go work, then come back to family. At the end of the day, family is the signature that doesn’t go away; you always come back to it.
How is motherhood treating you? [She has two children]
Eehhhh…. it is a hard but beautiful thing. Raising children is a challenge and that is why they say that parents are the earthly God, because we think for our children, pray for and guide them. It is a good duty and I thank God for blessing me with it.
Well-said! Should we expect more kids?
Shaaa….! Expect more? Are you going to help me take care of them? [Erm…Quick Talk always believed that worry was for us, non-celebs…] If you are going to help me take care of them, then why not? [Bursts into laughter.]
Okay…tell Quick Talk about your new song, Nja Kufumba.
It is a motivational song for ladies who are told that they won’t manage marriage, because I have also been in situations where many people said I wouldn’t manage it, but I am still here. I am practicing what I preach.
True, there was wide perception that your marriage wouldn’t last.
Because I am an entertainer, people see drama in whatever I do. And there is a lot of negativity. Just because some have failed in marriage, they tend to think that even others are bound to fail. But everyone is entitled to their opinion.
Well, celebrity marriages don’t have a good track record…
Celebrity marriages do last. It is just because the media focuses so much on us that when things go wrong, there is a lot of buzz, but even marriages of other people fail every day. We were not created in pairs; we just find our people and hope things go well. Some people find their better halves and stay, while others don’t and have to look elsewhere.
Your husband gifted you a brand new Range Rover on Valentine’s day. You must be doing something right!
[Giggles] I cannot tell the ladies my secret. Let everyone find their own way, but I am not giving them my potion! Even if we tell them the secrets, they never appreciate; so, let them sort themselves out.
Hellen, how would you describe your sense of fashion?
I love putting on whatever is trending. But I am the kind of person who is always smart. I stand out. I want to shine, because I am a star. I like putting on colourful outfits that attract attention.
You have been accused for years of dressing too skimpily…
That is very true. It’s what I like, because I am different. If I am on stage, you don’t expect me to be in a gomesi. How am I going to throw all my dance moves while wearing long outfits? I dress appropriately; people just haven’t understood it yet. I am a star and I need to shine.
Is your fashion house, ‘House of Lukoma’, still running?
‘House of Lukoma’ is me. As long as I am alive, House of Lukoma is alive. But I closed the shop because I couldn’t afford the rent and other expenses anymore. Covid-19 also hit me hard. But I have another shop, which deals in children’s clothes, called Kifampa Clothing.
How have you managed to maintain your youthful looks?
Everything happens naturally. I am not using steroids. I try to eat healthy, I keep away from drugs and I take alcohol in minimal quantities. I even don’t work out because I am too lazy and skinny for that.
What do you think of bleaching? It seems to be the latest trend in celebrity circles.
Hmmm munange….Everyone has different ways they want to treat their skin. Let them roast themselves as the sun also roasts them. But it is not bad for someone to beautify oneself, because there are those who have done it and look really beautiful. I have no problem with them as long as they don’t ask us to fundraise for treatment once their skins get complications.
What has been your biggest challenge in the entertainment industry?
Motivating myself every day has been my biggest challenge. You wake up and try doing something and it doesn’t go through, or people don’t believe in you, but you keep going. I have learnt to be my own inspiration because I want to be better every day.
Do you miss your The Obsessions days?
[Before Quick Talk even finishes the question:] For what? Why would I miss a marathon of hate, pain and competition? I stand and walk alone; I don’t walk in packs. Yes, I have people who help me here and there, but I move alone. I totally say no to those things of working as a group.
Was being in that group that basically made you, that bad?
Very bad! I was still young, basically a teenager, and I learnt a lot from there and as you grow, what you see and experience either destroys or makes you. Some were destroyed, while others stood and made themselves. There is nothing good I can say about entertainment groups.
There is competition, hate, gossip, and demotivation. There is nothing good it taught me apart from pushing myself to be better, because the bad things made me realise I needed to be on the good side of things.
Are you still in touch with some of the former members?
Yeah; Cleopatra Koheirwe, Brenda Nambi and Sheebah.
You are very jolly and bubbly; what can probably piss you off?
I don’t like liars and I don’t think there is anyone who likes being lied to. I don’t like people who are slow; I want everything to be done very fast.
What plans do you have for your career, going forward?
I am an artiste who is here to stay. I am in the studio recording music and shooting movies; therefore, people
should look out for that. I am not planning on doing any concerts, but I am going to be releasing the music.
How do you spend your free time?
I spend it mostly at home sleeping [Huh? With toddlers around?] and watching movies.
jjingoernest1@ gmail.com
