Tending my father’s workshop opened doors

Sylvester Aligawesa Muwonge Kamya, 30, carries around a black backpack. In it, he keeps a tube fiddle wrapped in a green polyethylene bag. He says the fiddle is one of the local music instruments that are hard to find, so he handles it with extreme care.

In 1999, while Kamya was in Primary Three at St Mary’s Primary School in Kamengo Sub-county, Mpigi District, he was sent home from school for lack of school fees. During those days he tended his father Muwonge’s workshop - Kamengo Drum makers, Mpambire - that dealt in locally made musical instruments.

Meeting his saviour
One day a secondary school music teacher Kamya refers to as Kakande came around to buy drums.
“He bought a xylophone, a drum and a tube fiddle. He appreciated the fact that I knew how to play the instruments,” Kamya recalls.

When teacher Kakande next returned to the workshop, he had a life-changing offer for Kamya. He would pay for Kamya’s education in Kampala until Primary Seven and in return Kamya would teach other pupils how to play local music instruments.

“Around that time, the school choir participated at Uganda National Cultural Centre and won a cultural gala,” Kamya recounts.

After primary school, he joined St Peter’s Secondary School for O-Level but his family did not have the resources to take him through to the next level. He therefore, took up ordinary jobs to survive.

“One evening, I went to Kisubi Market to entertain people with my tube fiddle. I would stop and play the instrument wherever I found people gathered. By close of day, I had made Shs27,000. Then, I realised I could make money entertaining people,” Kamya narrates.

In his struggle to make ends meet, he met a Good Samaritan who sponsored him to pursue a Diploma in music, Dance and Drama at Makerere University. After his course, Kmaya took on any work that could earn him money until he attended a friend’s introduction ceremony in Nkozi and played the fiddle to the amusement of the party-goers.
“Soon I started playing the tube fiddle at different functions and quit the job I had then.

When I wasn’t performing at a function, I was performing for crowd in urban centres. I was always smartly dressed, which made some people doubt that I played the fiddle for a living. Others said I was a spy masquerading as a tube fiddle player which was a challenge. I changed my name to Kadingidi,” he says

After gaining popularity, Kamya became a member of Mengo’s Central Civic Education Committee, sensitising Buganda King’s subjects about land. “I was being referred to as Omudingidi w’e Mengo (Mengo tube fiddle player). I ended up being imprisoned nine times because of singing about politics and Buganda issues,” he says.

And even though Kamya was sought after by radio stations, he was soon back in the markets playing his fiddle because radio stations were not paying him. Fortunately, he would be sure he would have a function to perform at every weekend.

Achievements
Kamya has on different occasions played for the Kabaka of Buganda, Vice President Edward Ssekandi and President Museveni where he earned the highest fee of Shs3m. Courtesy of his talent, he travelled to Italy when he was in Primary Four, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Tanzania.

From his earnings as a fiddle player, Kamya has been able to buy land in Mpigi and build himself a house as well as his parents. He also takes care of his brother and sister’s school fees and a few other children who want to study but cannot afford to.

Future plans
“I want to lobby for funds from different people such as the President so that I can set up an institution to teach playing music instruments to both the learned and illiterate. I believe this will provide a source of livelihood and change lives,” Kamya says.

Kamya is a married family man and says he enjoys music by Elly Wamala, Herman Basudde, Paul Kafeero, Mathias Walukagga and Wilson Bugembe in his free time.

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