By Our Reporters
Big name musician Bebe Cool (aka Moses Ssali) was this Saturday morning hosted on Capital Gang, the country’s weekend premier political talk show where he joined other panelists like Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, Robert Kirunda, Lydia Wanyoto and Moses Byaruhanga. Oscar Semweya Musoke was the host as usual and Bebe Cool protested his moderation style saying he comes off biased against him. Mr. Cool, who bitterly exchanged a lot with Lukwago and Kirunda, used the prime time allocated to him to brag about his excellent marketing skills which he said nobody should hate him for. In reference to the President’s video-recorded message calling on people to attend his “Boxing Day Tondeka e Kiwatule Mutima Gwa Zabu” concert which was successfully held on Wednesday 26th December, Bebe Cool said he wouldn’t apologize to anyone for making use of the President because “that is how far marketing can go.” He said he tactfully went to Museveni and secured that video-recorded endorsement because he knew the controversially such unprecedented endorsement would generate had potential to strengthen the marketing of his Kiwatule show and create more public keenness and interest towards the same. “If you want to get a big show you have to heavily invest in advertising the event. You want it to become something everyone is talking about. That is why I went for the President. In fact next time the Pope will be visiting Uganda I have planned to reach out to his team. I will be asking him to feature in my advert endorsing my music. Yes. That is how far marketing can go,” said Bebe Cool who had bitter exchanges with equally combative Erias Lukwago who was very defensive of Bobi Wine who was in absentia. Referring to him as “my young brother,” Mr. Cool said he acknowledges Bobi Wine is his competitor in the music industry “but I’m not comfortable competing with him on any other parameters beyond music.” He said he was increasingly finding it difficult to compete with a Bobi Wine who wants to combine both lyrical and political credentials to compete with him and other musicians. “He is my younger brother without a doubt. We have come a long way and there is a lot he can’t deny that has gone on between us. I respect him and I respect his right as a father and family man to fend for his family through music but I would like to deal with and compete with him as a musician without adding those other things,” said Bebe Cool seemingly implying that coming off as both politician and musician unlevels the ground creating undue advantage in favor of Bobi Wine the musician he is prepared to compete with. He said there was no point denying Bobi Wine being his competitor “because even the decision to set these shows on the same day has a lot to do with the undeclared desire to prove who is who and who and has a bigger crowd than whose.” Mr. Cool, the unrepentant Museveni supporter, said he understands why Mr. Wine crossed into politics and its important the man from Magere becomes truthful. “He was declining musically yet to remain big and competitive, you have to churn out more songs within the year which my brother wasn’t doing anymore and his decision to go into politics is understandable along those lines but the problem is to wish to use the political platform to gain undue advantage over his competitors in music. I’m saying this not because I hate him because I would say the same thing even if it was my other brother Chameleon,” said Mr. Cool. “When he showed preference for the opposition I hoped he would now be inviting Dr. Besigye to his concerts just like I have been making use of my political connections to the President. I think he realized he wouldn’t get as much mileage like Bebe gets when he brings the president and I was disappointed in him going into politics with plans to use the political crowd to continue competing with us who are still in music.” Bebe Cool said what attacked him in Lugogo was Mr. Wine’s political crowd and not the musical one-and that all this makes his concerns of the ground becoming unleveled relevant and very justified. “They say I’m arrogant but Bobi Wine’s hooligans politically stopped me from performing at Lugogo. I’m arrogant because I’m truthful when I support President Museveni. I know it hurts many people but reach out to me and convince me diplomatically by sitting me down rather than using political hooliganism. Make me understand why Museveni is bad rather than suffocating me using political hooliganism.”
WANTS TO FACE BOBI;
When called upon to give his closing remarks being the day’s guest panelist, Bebe Cool expressed displeasure with the moderator whose prior tough questioning he likened to being biased and treating him unfairly. “But I have been fair that is why I allocated you all the time to make your case,” moderator Semweya said prompting Bebe to reply “but the style of questioning was clearly very unfair to me.”
He added “that is why I look forward to another day when you bring us back here with my brother Bobi Wine for the two of us to debate one on one.” Earlier on, Bebe had urged lawyer Erias Lukwago to advise his friend Mr. Wine to challenge all the State’s transgressions in courts of law rather than seeking to challenge police and other security agencies politically. Kirundi joined Lukwago in lecturing Bebe Cool why it’s not as easy as it seems to get remedy in courts of law in Museveni’s Uganda anymore. “My brother it’s not as easy as it seems to you because that is not the way this country works anymore. We have a case [in the Constitutional Court] challenging POMA [Public Order Management Act now being used to constrain Mr. Wine’s concerts] which was filed 5 years ago and up to this day it has never been allocated a hearing date. So you can see what you are advising your fellow musician [Bobi] to go through as the State continues violating his rights in order to break his resilience,” Kirunda submitted as Lukwago supplemented him on the futility of challenging the Museveni state in courts of law. Saying “fate is a double crosser,” Kirunda urged Bebe Cool to condemn the State’s illegal actions regardless of who the victim is because in future he might regret like the Obote I minister who moved Parliament to enact the law on detentions without trial and cried foul when he found himself being victimized using the same law he enacted and vehemently defended. Unlike Byaruhanga and Wanyoto who defended many of the things Bebe Cool submitted, Kirunda and Lukwago urged him to use his clout to demand for a fairer society where laws equally apply rather than waiting to do it someday when it’s already too late. For comments, call, text or whatsapp us on 0703164755.
