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‘Santa’ Saleh drops the mic on artistes
Gen Salim Saleh, Chief Coordinator of Operation Wealth Creation told musicians to stop flocking his home seeking for financial favours
What you need to know:
- Gen Salim Saleh, who is also President Museveni’s younger brother, wrote to Uganda National Musicians Federation and Uganda Musicians Association, expressing his disappointment with the quality of work of their artistes.
The public display of frustration, even anger, by the Chief Coordinator of Operation Wealth Creation (OWC) with music artistes in Uganda, has opened a Pandora’s box as the 2026 General Election comes within eyeshot.
Gen Salim Saleh, who is also President Museveni’s younger brother, wrote to Uganda National Musicians Federation (UNMF) and Uganda Musicians Association (UMA), expressing his disappointment with the quality of work of their artistes. In Uganda, much like elsewhere in the world, music is a powerful tool for communication. OWC, one of many poverty alleviation programmes the State runs, uses it to convey information.
Over the years, relations between Gen Saleh and music artistes have thawed, thanks to a transactional relationship that has given bank balances of the latter a bump. The OWC chief coordinator, however, invoked the Scrooge in him on Christmas
Day. In a note jointly addressed to the UNMF and UMA, he disclosed paying $3,000 (about Shs10.8m) to one of the artistes, Omulangira Suuna (Emmanuel Suuna), for a badly done song he contracted him to produce about OWC.
“ I have decided to pay OS (Omulangira Suuna) for his work as an advert for OWC, not a song. All of you should compare my song on OWC by Nabasa produced by Michael Fingz and the advertorial work of OS,” the General wrote.
“The issue that angered me was that I had given him a script, then you should also listen to the songs of the competitions on OWC songs 2017,” he added.
Begging spree
Gen Saleh’s earlier reaction against the artistes on December 22, at a ceremony in Gulu City when he tasked a few of them to perform songs they produced about OWC, indicated how angered he was with the quality of their work.
President Museveni’s younger brother also revealed that he was not pleased by the state of affairs that has several artistes shoving begging bowls in his face.
In a bid to solicit financial support, the artistes interfere with his official work, he further claimed.
“Musicians, musicians I am tired of you, that one I have to speak on camera, you have taken a lot (of my) time, I have not even met the NRM people; can you imagine, because in the morning I am meeting Buchaman, in the afternoon I am meeting Ragga Dee, in the evening I am meeting Odong Romeo. So when will I work on the other Kirabira there? Wasting my time just.”
At a ceremony to launch a showroom where goods produced from the Kapeeka Industrial Area will be exhibited in Gulu City, several musicians, including Buchaman, and Ragga Dee, among others, were in attendance.
Whereas Gen Saleh claimed to have done everything he could to support the artistes, he pointed out that the artistes lacked organisation, cohesion and training, denting their impact.
The musicians’ frequent visits and daily interruptions, Gen Saleh said, have left him with limited time to attend to other significant state issues.
Sunday Monitor has established that some artistes booked accommodation where they had been residing to secure an appointment with Gen Saleh to seek financial support. We also understand that the OWC chief coordinator tasked Ragga Dee, a musician-cum-politician, to ensure no artiste from Kampala remained in Gulu while Christmas approached.
“This time we are not leaving these people [the artistes] in Gulu because I have no breathing space since they have endless issues. Help me to help these artistes because it is not productive at all,” Gen Saleh reportedly told Ragga Dee.
Frosty relations
In the past general elections, the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party has deployed musicians as a tool for political mobilisation at campaigns. It remains to be seen what sort of impact the outburst from Mr Museveni’s younger brother will have on his party’s fortunes.
“I have told you, I am now finished with you because I have tried as much as possible. So if you want to take the quarrel up to...I know you are going to abuse me on Twitter [X],TikTok.I am going to be the talk of TikTok, but at least you first project what you have got from inside there,” Gen Saleh told the artistes.
In November, Gen Saleh, in a letter, asked UNMF president and senior presidential advisor on creatives Edrisa Musuuza, alias Eddy Kenzo, to rein in on musicians, whom he said were frequently visiting him in Gulu.
"Please handle musicians who are flocking to Gulu for Christmas festivities shows, they are interfering with my work in northern Uganda,” he wrote.
Days after, OWC, in a tweet on its X handle, challenged artistes to be watchful and align their activities with the national priorities aimed at socio-economic development.
"Collaboration and mutual respect for development efforts are essential as we work towards uplifting communities across Uganda," OWC stated in an X post.
The State and the NRM’s attention and interest in artistes went to an apex towards the 2021 General Election, especially once musician-turned politician Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, alias Bobi Wine, declared his intention to contest as president in 2021. The artistes, it is established, were fronted to produce songs to counter Bobi Wine but also promote the NRM party’s agenda during the campaign period.
Gen Saleh, who has been engaging with different stakeholders, including business people, politicians, musicians and other local leaders in Gulu, said he had done more than enough to support artistes, especially musicians.
Since the 2021 presidential poll in which President Museveni was declared the winner, musicians and comedians have been f locking to Gen Saleh’s residence in Te-dam Cell, Bardege Parish, Layibi-Bardege Division, Gulu City for handouts. In reaction, Ragga Dee told journalists, in admission, that artistes were in a state of confusion and lacked organisation.The uncoordinated visits to Gen Saleh by different groups of artistes were—in Ragga Dee’s assessment—evidence of a lack of unity.
“(Salim) Saleh has helped the associations and federations a lot, but the challenge is there are too many groups who keep going to seek support from him in isolation. There is a lack of coordination among us,” Ragga Dee, who had success as an artiste shortly before and immediately after the turn of the 21st Century, opined.
Ragga Dee also admitted that he had been given money to clear the hotel expenses of the artistes who had spent an average of a month so that they could return to have their Christmas from Kampala.
Fights among artistes
In August 2021, at the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, artistes from central Uganda clashed with their counterparts from the Acholi Sub-region over Shs11b that was reportedly advanced to them by Gen Saleh. The cash was a bailout to artistes to help them hurdle over the shocks the Covid-19 pandemic pushed the country’s music industry into.
OWC explained in the statement that due to the Covid-19 crisis, it had intervened by carrying out and providing mindset change educational training and workshops designed to empower artistes and build their capacity to earn a living in the future.
Photos circulating online and other media units for the past three weeks have shown hundreds of music artistes, promoters, and comedians, among others, from all corners of the country now camped in Gulu. The people in question have held several meetings among themselves in order to maintain an orderly wait for the money.
This publication can now reveal that relations among the artistes became frosty following an uproar by new splinter groups. The groups were formed specifically by artistes from the Acholi Sub-region, who claim there was no way artistes from the central region could trespass into their territory and cut a deal with Gen Saleh without involving them.
We understand that in a space of two weeks, artistes from the Acholi Sub-region formed and registered two separate music associations. Although there is no clear record of a specific amount of money the artistes are set to receive, an unverified document that this publication saw indicates that the artistes are set to bag a combined Shs11 billion.
Meanwhile, another document purportedly authored by the United Music Superstars Association, of which stricken musician Jose Chameleone is said to be a key member, was sent to Gen Saleh and OWC, requesting a stimulus package of Shs9.5 billion. According to the association, the money is meant to help its members following individual losses incurred due to the suspension of the music industry following the outbreak of Covid-19 in March 2020.
In the letter, artistes Chameleone, David Lutalo, Pallaso, King Saha, and Bebe Cool reveal that they would require Shs800m, Shs420m, Shs821m, Shs357m, and Shs670m respectively, among others.
In March 2021, the artistes failed to meet Gen Saleh over stimulus support in the post-pandemic lockdown. Amid polarising politics, the Uganda Musicians Association (UMA)—an offshoot of the trade union National Union of Creative Performing Artists & Allied Workers—established in 2017 to bring together musicians, producers, and artiste managers, gained traction in recent months and has been crusading for the unity of its members.
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