Miss Uganda | The Rise and Rise of Queen Quinn

Quinn Abenakyo. That’s the name on every Ugandan’s lips – especially those that were privy to her heroics at the just concluded 68th Miss World pageant. She finished second runner-up, and was subsequently crowned Miss World, Africa. Today, she basks in her glory as the latest crown jewel on Uganda’s beauty scene.

Born premature, at seven months in 1996, the nascent Quinn had to endure a spell in an incubator until she was finally safe enough to be raised without the extra support.

The Pitfalls

Hers would seem like the result of a smooth sailing. Only that it wasn’t. In a media interview with NTV’s Solomon Kaweesa, Charles Ssembeera and Alice Kyamulesire, Quinn’s ecstatic parents echoed some of their daughter’s fears at the dawn of the competition.

Quinn had seen contestants whose physical beauty she believed dwarfed hers. If the pool of contestants was to be purely judged on “passport” beauty, she stood no chance, she worried.

For her mother, it was a case of constant encouragement. She was supposed to be her pillar; not of despair, but of unwavering hope. Not even after government handlers had given the pageant’s organizers the run-around did she waver.

Quinn’s travails had not been lost on her father. Charles Ssembeera had been fed with the countless supposed-downsides that come with the life of a pageant winner. The the public scrutiny. The scheming handlers and minders. The temptations and empty gains that stand in her way. But if fate had decided her destiny, then so it would be. He gave her his blessing.

In Brenda Nanyonjo, Kevin Zziwa, Ali Alibhai and Co, Quinn had just about the right team around her. Kevin is Brenda’s brother and the duo co-own Kezzi Events. Along with Alibhai, they had a reputation to protect, and simply couldn’t afford to bungle this. The result of their collaboration was what could eventually turn out as the most fruitful beauty pageant ever, in the country’s history.

What does this mean for her new-found fame?  

Quinn’s new status is one that ultimately comes with a truckload of responsibilities. She just wont sit there looking all cuddly and smiley as she waits for her reign to run out.

Goodwill Ambassador

The crown will come with associated ambassadorial roles, the volume of which could depend on her general appeal – public or otherwise. We could soon her strut her stuff at organisations as big as the United Nations.

Quinn’s eventual appeal should help to champion myriads of social causes. HIV, cancer, child abuse, teenage pregnancies and others of the ilk are some of the causes we could see her dip her hands in, over the next 12 months.

Her participation in such causes will help to further the causes and create the much-needed awareness. Each of these should come with attractive perks, a bigger CV and the kind of reputation she could use to her advantage in her life after the big stage.

Fundraisers

The responsibility that comes with a beauty crown means that holders of such titles cannot run away from certain roles. A beauty queen will be expected to push for sensitization about certain causes.

With her new status, Quinn could be end up working with many NGOs, government institutions and international firms. Public fundraisers, if well orchestrated, could be the biggest beneficiaries of such personalities and public figures.

Speeches

One of the skills that almost automatically go with the crown is excellent communication skills. You’ll hardly find a stammerer running away with the crown.

Whether as a goodwill ambassador or otherwise, a beauty queen will inevitably have to demonstrate excellent speech skills. This being one of the qualities vetted in the final selection, should be no hurdle for our indefatigable Quinn.

It’s a skill that will definitely come in handy long after the crown is gone, and the beauty is finally facing the world without the perks. It’s a skill that will determine if she eventually slips into oblivion or continues to rock the world long after the crown is gone.

Role Model

Quinn’s victory has instantly turned her into an advocate for societal service. The title comes with the huge cost of moral responsibility. She’s supposed to maintain respectable personality and character.

Her appeal must transcend a stretch of groups, from age to cultural and social status, among others.

Quinn is no longer the ordinary citizen. She’ll be expected to be a source of inspiration to millions of youngsters that look up to her. She may be no angel, but she’ll definitely be expected to play the paragon personality. We hope the perks that come with such responsibility will be worth the weight of expectation on her shoulders.

Feature | Nyege Nyege

“The name itself means: Sex!! Sex!!”, roared Father Simon Lokodo, the Honorable Minister of Ethics and Integrity as he finally emerged from a five-month public coma.

The most pious of Jjajja’s ministers, if his title is anything to go by, was referring to the implied Swahili translation of Nyege Nyege, the MTN-sponsored four-day Music festival that has just about every owner of a decent accommodation facility in Jinja town smiling to the bank.

He wants the event cancelled because whereas majority of its revelers are predominantly heterosexual, minority groups will conspire to turn it into a successful curtain raiser for an impending Armageddon. To this effect, he has alerted every organ he deems important to be on standby. IGP, IGG, UPF, Ministry of Internal Affairs, JATT, ISO, Counter-terrorism Unit.

Going by his logic, I guess he may have to embark on a countrywide cleansing tour. He’ll go to Western Uganda and learn new words that include ripe bananas being called Eminekye. Then he will proceed to Budadiri with Nkore lenses and arrest every muzukkulu who addresses him as Owelugosi Simon Lokodo because God might revoke his heaven visa.

But he’ll have no idea that he risks his Gishu hosts fleeing his company while screaming “Rapist!!” when he eventually tells them he wants “Eminekye”.

Perspective | 106.1 FM, Nxt Radio

So, a new radio station set up shop in town while we were away. Nxt Radio, the latest addition to the city’s airwaves, recently acquired what was formerly known as Jazz FM at 106.1 FM.

Such has been the hype surrounding its inauguration that I eventually succumbed to the bandwagon, choosing to give them a listen.

My maiden experience is on their breakfast show where some chic runs the show alongside Marcus Kwikiriza, the veteran radio journeyman who’s now cut short his radio retirement to refill his piggy bank.

A song plays, featuring Nicki Minaj and other chaps. Random chic praises the rap in the song, but cannot recall Nicki’s goddam name. She promises to google and return from the break with every detail, including but not limited to the name of her favorite ex.

Day Two: 24 hours later, chic has swiftly moved on. So she won’t give us the details. Not even the song title.

The Cast: Same duo, discussing random things. Punctuated with sporadic giggles, a snippet of the conversation goes thus;

"So, Richard Quest is in Nairobi."

"Ah, you mean the host of Request-something-show?"

"(Interjecting): Quest means business[...]"

"Yes, yes. That one."

"He’s been to several places including River something […]."

"Oh, Karuma river you mean?"

"(Interjecting) No, not Karuma. Another one. I'll check the name."

When do these people research? These things of guessing should be left to us, armchair social media commentators. "Us", we even have the freedom of writing things like "Massachusetts" and surrounding them with cool words we can’t pronounce in real life (folks like Raymond Mukama get to pronounce these words thrice a week).

Oh, and if you, like me, have neither the time to watch nor the means to afford TV, you won’t feel the rigors of senescence in Karitas’ voice, now doing an evening show whose name I am yet to grasp. She still sounds as innocent as she did all those years ago, long before she dreamed of becoming a Nnalongo.

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Random Chic is not her name. She calls herself Qitui. Florence Makyeme Kitui. Believed to come with lots of alternative experience in media and marketing and other things. Formerly of Capital FM, but still better than the string of kitchen sinks that, for 5+ years, Sanyu FM has been throwing at their studios in their quest to replace Melanie.

Perspective | Will King Saha fill Mowzey Radio's Shoes?

It sounded like an idle joke when the rumor first did the rounds. Saha had just done the intro on Weasel’s tribute to the departed Radio, "Tokyayitaba".

Released in such a haste that a song that should have been titled "Tayitaba" ended up with that we now know as its official title, one would be forgiven for glossing over Saha’s cameo, for he never did much more in the four-minute long composition.

He went on and did "Biri biri" and the world’s cynics, including yours truly, felt that his was a poor xerox of "Neera", Mowzey Radio’s blockbuster song that eventually became one of Museveni’s two campaign theme songs.

When he teams up with the singing DJ duo of Roja and Slick Stuart on "Very well", there is an apparent attempt at going pseudo-Naija, in a manner reminiscent of Radio's ephemeral gravitation towards the same when he sang "Talk and talk", "Ole" and "Magnetic".

King Saha and Weasel's telepathy comes to life in "Mpa Love", the duo's latest project. He may not have the vocal prowess nor the lyrical artistry of Mowzey, but one salient factor in the duo’s latest single is the chemistry, and boy do they flow!

Music | Jubireewo: Of Budo’s swag and the two sides to Paul Saaka’s creativity

King’s College Budo has been in the news for its role in the much-touted all-school stars (that's what they called themselves) collaboration, a song that features 3,234,417 other schools. For a school whose products are known, or perhaps stereotyped for bandying a pseudo-imperial persona, Budo's 30-second cameo is everything "un-Budonian".

If it hadn’t been for the purpose for which it was composed, one would imagine the school had exchanged identities with St. Stephens SSS, Kikubamutwe for that ephemeral moment in the entertainment limelight.

It’s the first of two songs co-written by the veteran composer, Paul Saaka, in the run-up to Kabaka Ronald Mutebi’s coronation silver jubilee, an event that attracted attention from places as far-flung as West Africa. The Asantehene, a mercurial monarch from the legendary Ghanaian Kingdom of Ashanti, is said to be in town for the event.

Perhaps the biggest criticism of the song could be that it’s not cross-generational enough to tickle one’s fancy. For a moment, one would think Paul Saaka’s creativity was on the wane until the release of the second “all-star” song, this time featuring real "stars".

The similarly titled Jubireewo, is a mid-tempo composition that features a dozen of artistes, from Afrigo’s Moses Matovu to Anette Nandujja, Rema Namakula, Meshach Ssemakula, Navio,Ronald Mayinja, Wilson Bugembe, Hilderman, Ceaserous, Joanitah Kawalya, Walukagga, Dan Mugula, Mariam Ndagire and David Lutalo (among others) produced from Henry Kiwuuwa’s Grayce Records.

Dan Mugula takes us back in time to his 1971 classic, Baalaba Taliiwo, in relation to the Kingdom’s denigration following the events surrounding that 1966 raid on the palace. Walukagga is the usual Kadongo kamu Walukagga and Navio does slot in effortlessly in a delivery style reminiscent of his other songs, Njogereza and Tumunonye.

Rema Namakula’s falsetto is as apparent as Dr. Hilderman’s attachment to Mawokota in their youthful exuberance, while Joanitah Kawalya regales about her being Eclas Kawalya’s daughter (among other things). There’s a mini-comeback of sorts in Mariam Ndagire, with the bubbly singer-cum-screenwriter dropping her verse towards the tail-end of the song.

Whereas one gets the feeling that David Lutalo, Wilson Bugembe and Mesach Ssemakula were not as prominent as they could have been, that Budo moment in the first song still takes the biscuit.

Had it not been for that momentary flaunting of Edward Muteesa II’s photo as their most prominent alumnus, one could have been tempted to pause for a moment and re-read the inscriptions on the building that features in the background at the start of their 30 seconds of fame.