NRM presidential candidate Yoweri Museveni (L) with some of the musicians who sang Tubonga Naawe at Speke Resort Munyonyo in Kampala recently. The song is being used as a mobilisation tool for NRM candidates standing for various elective positions in the run up to the 2016 elections. Photo by Dominic Bukenya
In Summary
In this last part of our series on Songs of Resistance, Frank Walusimbi looks at the synergy between politics and music as a tool of political mobilisation.
Politicians recruit musicians to promote and mobilise supporters owing to the fact that people intending to contest for elective positions have found music as a good tool for mobilisation.
Besides mobilising supporters, no scientific research has been done to establish exactly how the message in these political songs appeals to people.
Lately, this trend has become a contentious issue but it is not new at all.
In the 1950s and 60s, when Ugandans started to demonstrate a level of political awareness, politicians did not look at music as a tool that could work to their benefit.
But elsewhere, such as South Africa and USA, politicians and activists had long before discovered the power of music. For instance, the song, We Shall Overcome, was used by African American activists to rally for their rights to vote, and assemble, among other rights.
However, the 1990s were also hostile to the new breed of Ugandan musicians engrossed in the ‘raga’ genre. Most people viewed the artistes as bayaaye (loosely translated as society misfits).
As musician Moses Ssali, aka Bebe Cool, puts it, the music industry was not booming.
“We were looked at as lumpens. Musicians were so laid back.”
Bebe Cool is an artiste of modern times who has been around NRM circles and specifically party leader President Museveni.
The Uganda Peoples Congress had formulated mobilisation chants which were frequently used even at State functions. Both the youth and party members would chant in unison to the admiration of struggling political parties then.
Women dressed in African kitenge fabric on which former president Milton Obote’s face was printed, school children in old uniforms and men dressed as they wished all sang about UPC most times praising Obote for his government’s achievements.
Veteran singer David Jjingo remembers party members who sang for UPC with passion.
“They would sing and dance to their common tune… ooh maama, the congress of the people… They were powerful indeed.”
In the 1980s, Democratic Party would also come up with their Egumire Egumire DP tune that is sang with energy but with little appeal of musicality in it.
Music featured much on the political scene of 1980 during the general election and after.
Dr Obote and his party claimed victory in the election that was allegedly more of a widely staged show of irregularities.
The same election led Uganda to the civil war of 1981 to 1986.
Mr Museveni, then of the little known Uganda Patriotic Movement (UPM), fulfilled his threat of launching a guerrilla war to redeem Uganda from injustices.
The National Resistance Army (NRA) had officially started.
During the war, the NRA used the arts to mobilise citizens to support the cause as well as boost the morale of the fighters.
The rebel outfit gave the Obote government the worst challenging times. Hitting the rebel areas with mighty military force did not deter the guerrilla fighters who stood their ground with inferior rifles.
One of the things that kept these men advancing in the bush was the cheapest of all – music.
“We sang morale-boosting songs in different languages. It is those songs that kept the spirit. In the start these songs were in Swahili, Luganda and Ruyankore because most of the first fighters recruited were from the central and western regions,” The Chief Political Commissar, Col Felix Kulayigye, said.
Fighters were not in combat all the time. So, music would be used to occupy them as they got to appreciate the purpose of the struggle through lyrics they sang.
When the late Brig Chefe Ali joined NRA, his comrades remember him as a reserved man with a span of knowledge and talent.
Brig Chefe had trained in Mozambique before with fighters of the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique. He knew the art of resistance. He had learnt from Mozambique that music fuels the mind of a man in the centre of an important struggle.
He taught NRA fighters morale-boosting songs. When a fighter fell to enemy assault, fighters would sing in memory of them. When they captured new ground, tunes like Moto Wawaka would be sang. Other songs were to mobilise the population.
“We started operating a radio frequency in the bush.”
After the bush war, NRA continued to use music as is when it changed to UPDF.
Artistes were doing songs of hope. Uganda had been hit by post-war challenges like disease, hunger and poverty. Philly Lutaaya’s Voices are Crying Out was among the famous tunes then.
Tension again engulfed the country in 1996 campaigns and election time. Many Ugandans, feared that what happened in 1980 might resurface.
Two candidates took on Mr Museveni… Kibirige Mayanja and DP’s Kawanga Ssemogerere. Mr Museveni comfortably won the race. Voters sang a few slogans in support of candidates but not with much interest and zeal as it would later be, in 2001 and 2006.
In 2006, there was a controversial episode in Parliament in which MPs quashed a clause in the Constitution that restricted presidential terms. The excitement and displeasure about the decision was talk across the country.
Mr Museveni and NRM’s supporters would chant bamwongere ekisanja to mean add him [Museveni] another term. Towards 2006, real songs in support of kisanja [third term] started.
Artistes, known, less known and not known at all, offered solicited and unsolicited works in support of Mr Museveni.
Notably, The Kads Band and Bebe Cool did a whole album with political songs in support of Museveni. Then a defence minister, Amama Mbabazi launched the album and bought a copy at Shs7 million.
“There is a lot of opportunity that musicians have to tap into,” says Bebe Cool.
Afrigo Band’s Moses Matovu links artistes singing mobilization songsthis to one thing, money.
“They [artistes] don’t sing because they truly love those parties. They are looking for money. Personally, I don’t sing politics anymore.”
By 2003, Bebe Cool was already friends with President Museveni despite his father, Jaberi Bidandi Ssali falling out with Mr Museveni over the lifting of term limits.
In 2005/6, approximately Shs120 million was spent by NRM on artistes for mobilisation according to reports then.
The opposition mainly depended on music that was done by artistes who had no intention to use it for campaigning. Ronald Mayinja’s 2005 Tuli ku Bunkenke topped the list.
“I composed the song because I was seeing a lot of unjust things going on. I never intended it to be used by Opposition. I think they liked it, probably we were seeing things the same way,” said Mr Mayinja.
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