In Ugandan music, we have been lucky to witness stars, superstars and legends.
But then, there is the limited edition of all-time greats (ATGs)! A star can break out with a hit, superstars create multiple hits and legends last generations. But all-time greats leave a lasting legacy that cannot be replicated.
In Ugandan music, Moses Matovu is one of the few ATGs. Philly Lutaaya, Elly Wamala and Paul Kafeero set their standards so high no one has ever come close to replicate their achievements. Nonetheless, Moses Matovu was different. He created a standard that stood for more than half a century.
Let that sink in. This may sound superlative but the reality is there for everyone to see. He could have been a star in his own right if he chose so, but he resisted this urge at the expense of carrying along colleagues with whom they built the most formidable musical ensemble this country has seen, Afrigo band.
In the wake of his death on September 24, I was astounded at how many people claimed to know Matovu. Only a handful know he was an enigma. Figure this out; he was a Muslim; he was a former chorister at Namirembe Cathedral Choir while at the same time played top-level football with Express FC and Police FC.
For the last 51 years, Matovu led Afrigo band to release several albums and performed more than 300 hits. Where does this place him in the pantheon of Ugandan music? Nowhere. He has no comparable peer. So, where does one begin to analyze his legacy?
Even the 51-year journey with Afrigo, from obscurity to fame, can only scratch the surface of who Moses Matovu was. He got early fame, survived the brutal seventies era when many of his contemporaries were killed.
He endured adversity in the eighties and even contemplated fleeing to exile. In all this, he survived the departure of several members from the band and even survived Covid-19 when all hope was lost. Yet, his life was ended tragically. From humble beginnings, Matovu was the only surviving member of the original Afrigo band of eight.
He was the brains behind some of the band’s biggest hits such as Nantongo, Sirina Anantwala, Afrigo Batuuse I, Speed and so many more. Matovu had learnt the saxophone during the Cranes band days and he automatically reprised the role when Afrigo was formed in 1975.
From then on, Matovu has been the top reference person when it comes to professionalism, perfection, longevity, leadership, and consistency. He was one of the few survivors of the golden music era from the mid-seventies through to the mid-nineties when music composition had little to do with studio synthetics.
FROM CHORISTER TO PERFORMER
Matovu spent much of his early childhood days with his mother Solome Nakitto at Bakuli, a Kampala suburb. By virtue of her Anglican belief, Solome encouraged Matovu to join the fabled choir at Namirembe Cathedral, where he enrolled as a chorister.
The cathedral is a stone’s throw away from Mengo primary school where he undertook studies. His mainstream music career can be traced to 1967 when he joined Thunderbirds band based at the popular nightclub called White Nile in Katwe. There, he played the congas.
Thunderbirds was made up of mostly high school peers and because the youngsters didn’t have permanent instruments, Matovu used to hop around various musical groups to learn different musical instruments.
When he joined the Kibuli-based Police Jazz band in 1968, he met saxophonist Mansour Bulegeya in what became a key turning point in his career. Amazingly, his presence in the jazz band was a mere side show and his major day-to-day role at Kibuli was playing for Police FC in the top-flight football league. Yes, he was a top-level midfielder!
While there, Bulegeya tutored him in the basics of the saxophone. By 1969, Matovu had become a sought-after vocalist and joined Cranes band to team up with the likes of Tony Senkebejje, Charles Sekyanzi, Sam Kawuma, Eddie Ganja, Jessy Gitta and John Clyde Mayanja Luzige, among others.
The band’s most striking signature was Matovu’s excellent vocal balance with Sekyanzi. The latter’s unique falsetto seamlessly enabled Matovu to be comfortable with his tenor range. Matovu penned his first songs Jimmy Ssaasira and Ekadde with the band and they became instant hits, making him the standout star of the band.
Yet, despite the band’s rise to fame, they lacked a saxophonist, one of the most important pieces of the band musical jigsaw. It didn’t help matters that their music was heavily influenced by Congolese rhumba, in which the sax plays an influential part.
Matovu had already realized this anomaly and it only served to intensify his training with Bulegeya.
BIRTH OF AFRIGO
By 1974, Cranes band group members had reached irreconcilable differences, leading to an inevitable breakup. In 1975, Matovu led one faction of the split that had the likes of Jeff Sewava, Charles Sekyanzi, Anthony Kyeyune, Paddy Nsubuga, Fred Luyombya, Geoffrey Kizito and Paul Serumaga.
Matovu and Afrigo capitalized on the rhumba euphoria that had swept the region in the early seventies and turned it into the most popular bands in the country. The transition was smooth and Afrigo quickly won the heart of President Idi Amin, who wooed them to his favourite hangout called Cape Villas, a high-end place in Ggaba.
EXCEPTIONAL LEADER
One night in November, 1976, Amin was in the swimming pool when the band rolled off the performance in front of several VIPs. An inspired Amin called Matovu on the side and offered to sponsor the band directly from government coffers under the president’s office.
That was another game changer for the band but Matovu and his colleagues were already skeptical of Amin, who had reportedly murdered their former colleague, Jessy Kasirivu. So, Matovu and Afrigo enjoyed state patronage thereafter but things turned for the worst when Amin was toppled.
Nearly all the band equipment was looted and as many of the band members fled to exile, Matovu somehow stayed around. He spent most of his time at home practicing alone and Afrigo resumed performing on a low-key note in 1980 at Slow Boat, a once popular hangout on Kampala road.
By 1983, the band had reestablished itself as a force in the music industry and acquired its home at Kibuli, where it is based to this day. When legendary Congolese musician Franco Luambo Makiadi held a show at Nakivubo stadium in 1984, Afrigo was picked to be the opening act for Franco’s TPOK Jazz band.
Franco was so astonished with the way Matovu played the saxophone that the following day, he invited him to his hotel and asked him to join his band, which was based in Brussels, Belgium. It was a dream offer but Matovu turned it down.
“I thought to myself…How could I leave the band yet I was the leader?” Matovu intimated to me in 2010.
“I chose to lead by example and humbly turned it down.” It also happened that Matovu had just composed several big hits for the band such as Afrigo Batuuse I, Nantongo and Tondeka Awaka. Over the past 40 years, there have been major shakeups in the band with many members leaving while at the same Matovu recruited new faces.
In the midst of this, Matovu has been the only constant, overseeing the band’s music and administration until his death. Critics have argued that Matovu has been rigid and that Afrigo has greatly been relying on old songs but then again, why fix something that is not broken?
This is not to say that his powers waned as he aged; but nearly all his compositions in that period remain fan favourites to this day. When you consider that he penned down the timeless classic Sirina Anantwala, Speed, and Mundeke, then you realize he was a band within a band.
Later compositions such as Bagikwongere, Ngenze N’ono, Sirina Reverse and Teri Mubi remain popular with the band’s faithful. Even after the death of several I key members such as Sekyanzi, Mwambala, Amigo Wawawa, Serumaga, Mansour Bulegeya, Musoke, Mpagi, Fred Kigozi and Don Kanta Ibanda, Matovu managed to keep the band afloat.
Beyond Afrigo, Matovu was also a well-known mentor and his philanthropy rarely got due recognition and he hardly mentioned any of that. On any given day, if you didn’t find him guiding other musicians at his studio in Kibuli, you would likely bump into him at Villa training sessions tending to Villa players’ needs.
THE PERFECTIONIST
Afrigo fans know it well that you did not need to physically see Matovu to know whether he is around. Matovu was there if the sound was top-notch and everything started on time.
Even the few times I had chance to watch Afrigo rehearsing, Matovu ensured they master every music segment of a song, even if it requires 20 repeats. Such was his quest for flawlessness that he rarely entertained guest artistes at Afrigo shows without rehearsals.
SAX MAESTRO
The life and feel of his compositions were there for all to witness. His signature tunes would start on a mild tone, pick up some vibrancy before exploding at the end. His saxophone performances were also quite remarkable because he had an astonishing way of making the instrument almost cry out in pain.
Now that his distinguished career is no more, it is only fitting to continue enjoying him because there will never be anyone like him
WHO WAS MOSES MATOVU?
• Born on June 19. 1949 to Abdallah bin Adam Bukenya and Christine Solome Nakitto (both deceased).
• Studied at Mengo PS, Kibuli Dem, Kibuli Junior and Pillai SS.
• He is third in a family of six siblings.
• Renowned broadcaster Andrew Patrick Luwandagga was his brother
• He is survived by 11 children including Ibrahim Seguya (trumpeter, saxophonist and drummer), Baker Kasozi (songwriter, trumpeter and vocalist) while Adam Bukenya is a former Police FC midfielder.
• His football career took him through Kibuli United, Fiat, Young Salumbey, Nakivubo Boys, Police and Express.
• Started music with Thunderbirds, Police Jazz band, Cranes band before settling with Afrigo band in 1975.
• Besides playing the soprano, alto and tenor saxophones, Matovu also fluently played the flute as well as the congas.