Namala okutuusa by Fred Kanyike & Yunia
Fred “Freddie” Buwule Kanyike was an iconic Ugandan musician who enjoyed a remarkable singing career that spanned over 4 decades. He started off in the music industry working as the Kampala agent for African Gramophone Stores (AGS), a Nairobi, Kenya, music recording studio. He would take on singing in the early 1960s, establishing himself as a towering presence at Jolly-Joe Kiwanuka’s White Nile Club where he gave live performances alongside other Ugandan great names such as Steven K. Bonnie (the “K” for Kyambadde) and Andrew Kyambadde. Some of his greatest works of the 1960s were collaborations with Andrew Kyambadde e.g. “Ekibuga Katwe,” “Nalina Jajja,” “Freddie Mwana,” “Night Mama.”
According to John Luggya, an aficionado of Ugandan music and Freddie’s friend, some of Freddie’s major hits were written by his brother, Eddy Kanyike. Another brother, Sam Kanyike, was a gifted guitarist who is credited with helping the guitar virtuoso Billy Mutebi hone his craft. Billy’s characteristic guitar reefs and leaks are heard on several Afrigo Band and Philly Lutaya songs. Freddie was beloved by patrons of Kampala’s nightclub scene and he was equally admired by connoisseurs of the 1960s Uganda’s burgeoning rumba sound. He would leave White Nile Club to play at Kampala’s Florida Nightclub and later at New Life Nightclub.
The 1960s Ugandan club scene was dominated by a few nightclubs which catered to Uganda's emerging and sophisticated middle class. Chief among the clubs were Suzana (owned by four friends - Sam Odaka, Roger Mukasa, Sam Mukasa and Fan Ntende), Jolly-Joe Kiwanuka's White Nile and Kamulu's New Life. There was quite a healthy competition between the various clubs, outdoing each other in attracting the best talent.
In 1973, Freddie formed “Rwenzori International Band,” popularly known as Rwenzori. Freddie embarked on creating Uganda’s first superband, recruiting within the band’s ranks some of the best Ugandan musical talent of the time. The group had 16 members, including, inter alia, Eclaus “Sitale” Kawalya, Fred Masagazi, Ms. Hadija Namale, Billy Mutebi, Fred Kigozi, Geoffrey Nsereko, Sempaala Kigozi, Mansur Akiiki, etc. Freddie also formed the “River Nile Band”, which some have called a “sister” band to Rwenzori. River Nile Band was home to the youthful up and coming musical talent such as Philly Bongoley Lutaya, Eddy Ganja, Shem Makanga, Alex Mukulu, and the velvety-voiced Ssebulime. Rwenzori toured extensively, staging concerts in the United States and Japan. The group’s eponymic song, Rwenzori, stands out as a 1970s classic.
In 1976, fearing for his life in Idi Amin’s Uganda, Freddie fled the country. That spelled the end of Rwenzori International Band. Fred Buwule Kanyike lived in exile in Kenya for a few years. In Kenya, he played with Orchestra Virunga, and in 1986 released “Embaga eyegende Amina” and “Rwenzori”. He finally settled in Upstate New York.
Photo: Fred Kanyike by kind courtesy of John Luggya
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