My parents and manager have been there for me

My parents have been the main stars of my life right from the time I was born. They have been there for me throughout the good and bad times.
My father is Prof Paul Edward Mugambi, the executive directive Virtual University of Uganda and my mother is Lydia Zawedde Mugambi, an art teacher. I have five older siblings. I am the last born.
There was a time my health was very poor. This was while in Senior Three at Gayaza High School. I had this problem of always sleeping in class. My parents took me to different doctors to find out the diagnosis, in vain. The doctors never found anything wrong with me. I was then taken to different pastors and counsellors who comforted and prayed for me, respectively.
Despite the combined efforts made towards improving my health, I did not perform well and was made to repeat Senior Three.
I expected my parents to reprimand me for failing but they did not do so. I remember them saying it was not such a bad thing to repeat a class, rather, it was a second chance accorded for improving my grades.
Well, I repeated the class and went ahead to sit Senior Four. I sat my Senior Six at Makerere College School. Sadly, I scored five points in the combination of Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Economics (PCM/E).
Even with these miserable marks, my parents remained supportive. Rather than be sad, they encouraged me to go ahead to upgrade my studies. I enrolled for a diploma at the College of Computing and Information Sciences at Makerere University and later for a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science at the same university. I graduated in 2007.

What Basuuta learnt from her parents
My father is an organised man who plans everything he does. Daddy is a proper, well put together man. He is a little laid back compared to my mother. She on the other hand is this bubbly person, so full of life, a very friendly person. She is the kind of person you will find chatting with a cobbler or some random bodaboda guy at the stage.
I am more like my mother. I am as loud as her. I love to talk and be all over the place. Although I am nothing like my father, I am slowly learning to be organised like him.

The other star
Music has always been a passion. While in high school, I was part of the church choir as well as the music and drama group. Even when I went ahead to further my studies, I continued to sing.
However, I toned down a little bit after joining Bank of Uganda in 2008. First, I worked as an intern at the Information Technology department before relocating to the communication department. At the bank, I met a lady called Jennifer Ochwo who was then working as a software engineer at the Information Technology department. Initially, we were colleagues who eventually became friends.
In a way, Ochwo helped me to put back my life into order. I am this kind of person who has a scattered brain. I can be here and there, all over the place. And because I am the last born, I have particular tendencies to do things at my own pace and time without caring what the world thinks. Sometimes I am also disorganised.
Jennifer, who is older than me, on the other hand is a very tidy person, detailed and very hardworking. She is the kind of person who is not easily swayed by people’s opinions or expectations.
She noticed how I was a mess and tried to put me back into order. She talked to me about being more responsible, organised, being on time and keeping my word.

Leaving the bank to pursue music
I left the bank in 2015 and went back to doing my first love, music, at a more professional level. Jennifer, who had left earlier in (2014), took on the role of my music manager.
Under her management, I was able to do my first concert dubbed “My Love Story” at Golf Course Hotel. Also, I went on to do backup vocals for Maurice Kirya, a renowned local musician as well as perform with Pragmo Jazz band as the lead singer.
In addition to this, I have been able to release my own songs including Nsuubira, Met a Man, Nzani, among others.
Throughout this journey, Jennifer has been with me. She is not only my manager but friend always guiding me.

When they fight
Of course our friendship has not always been rosy. We have moments where we fight over different issues. During such times, she walks away, cools off and later comes back to me to talk about the issue at hand. I thank God she is part of my life. I am also grateful for my parents who have continued supporting me during my musical journey. They always ensure to come for my concerts.”