Olaxxes: Vlogger splits nation in death as in life

Although Isma Olaxxes, alias Jjaja Iculi, moved overseas for greener pastures in 2005, his quest for a good life only yielded dividends when he returned to Uganda on December 13, 2019.

Sadly, what Olaxxes called the “best days of his life” following his return from Sweden three and a half years ago were cut short last Saturday. Unknown assailants shot the no-holds-barred vlogger dead near his home in Kyanja, a Kampala suburb.

Growing up

Olaxxes was born Ibrahim Lubega in Mengo, Kampala, to Yunus Kasajja and the late Irene Namusisi on February 28, 1979.

“By claiming to be a mzee in his 60s, my son only masqueraded to suit his desired social status,” 65-year-old Kasajja said of his fallen son in an interview with the Monitor.

Upon his birth, Olaxxes’s mother—a non-Muslim—was asked to hand him over to his Muslim father so as to continue with school. So just days after his birth, Olaxxes was handed to his father’s first wife. He would come to call the woman who raised him “Maama Muto.”

Under Maama Muto’s care, Olaxxes fell critically ill. On his hospital bed, Olaxxes would get his surname after Maama Muto responded to inquiries about the patient’s state with a simple “Tusubira” (loosely translated as: we are hopeful).

Along with the name Tusubira, religion (Ibrahim) and his Ngabi clan in Buganda (Lubega) would give Olaxxes more personal details. When Olaxxes moved to Sweden, he took on the name Isma. Olaxxes (All access in Uglish) soon became his alias after he acquired settlement documents that guaranteed him all access in the foreign Nordic land.

Before that, Olaxxes attended Bishop Nkoyoyo Primary School in Matale before joining Gombe Secondary School for his O-Level. He wrote his final A-Level exams at Hassan-Troubi Education Centre (until recently Bweyogerere Secondary School). He would later join Makerere University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce Degree.

Leaving Uganda

Before trying his luck in Sweden, Olaxxes sold phones in Uganda’s capital. He was streetwise enough to make a living out of this and other business so much so he was a regular at Majestic Plaza on William and Wilson streets in the early 2000s.

Adam Byansi, his old-time friend, says Olaxxes worked for Humphrey Mayanja—singer Jose Chameleon’s elder brother. Mayanja owned one of the biggest phone shops in Kampala at the time. But Olaxxes remained frustrated.

Consequently, he thought the grass was greener overseas. After many failed attempts at landing a visa to either the United Kingdom or the United States, Olaxxes would strike gold with Sweden.

Connie Birungi, alias Brownsuga—his socialite friend—pointed him in that direction. She had previously lived in the country. The two presented themselves as a couple for Olaxxes to obtain a visa. Brownsuga was already a Swedish citizen.

Life in Sweden

Eventually, Olaxxes set off for Sweden on February 13, 2005. He had every intention of marrying Brownsuga. The Kampala streets had taught Olaxxes hard work. He put the skill to good use while in Sweden after landing his first job—newspaper distribution in Stockholm, the country’s capital.

He later did what he considered a less tiresome job—cleaning at an elderly hospital’s premises. He did this as he awaited his official resident documents. Infact Olaxxes would continue doing menial jobs in Stockholm for two years before the Swedish government granted him a credit card and all access to every corner of the country.

The youthful excitement at the time drained him as he spent all the money on the credit card. It wasn’t long before he resorted to taking crippling loans.

“Despite my many years of hard work, failure to follow guidance and advice limited my chances of making it in Sweden” he once told a local TV.

Pegged back, he went back to school where he acquired a skill in painting. His speciality was designing wallpapers, floor and top painting. He juggled these duties with social media influencing.

Childlessness

Throughout his stay in Sweden, Olaxxes kept falling and standing. He remained hopeful that one day he would settle down and start a family. He soon met a fellow Black named Miriam. He thought she was, in his own words, extraordinary. When Miriam failed to conceive, a trip to the doctor would soon reveal that Olaxxes had a low sperm count. The revelation pushed him further into depression.

“Psychiatrists offered me alternatives like adoption, surrogacy, among others, but the true African in me only desired a child of my own conceived the natural way,” he once confessed.

He would die without fathering a child the natural way. Before that, many women duped him into thinking he sired children with them. Others feigned miscarriages. The anger at these outcomes was brought to bear in his viral videos.

Vlogging

Olaxxes was a regular normal social media user until 2019. Thanks to his friend back in Sweden—Raymond Soulfah, alias Peng Peng—the social media influencer bug bit Olaxxes. The pair had met in their earlier lives in Zzana, a localWity they both grew up in on Entebbe Road.

Olaxxes’s maiden video, to which he said Peng unknowingly set him up for, had him urging masses not to be violent and not to abuse President Museveni.

Mid-way through his submission in the video, an unnoticed person ambushed and slapped him and immediately ran off. This made the clip go viral. It was mid 2019 and the country was readying itself for the 2021 General Election.

After going viral, naive as he was, Olaxxes decided to take on the craft. He kept recording more videos that he posted on various social media platforms. Soon, he would be a darling of Ugandan social media users.

Returning to Uganda

Olaxxes decided to return to Uganda in December of 2019. Many of his contemporaries in Sweden warned him against engaging in polities while in Uganda. He, however, opted to frame his online persona as a social and political critic. He returned to Uganda penniless and eager to start from scratch.

Once back in Uganda, he spent a night at a friend’s residence in Nakulabye. Then Kampala Central MP Muhammad Nsereko, his old-time friend, who highly encouraged him to return home, took him in. Mr Nsereko would later introduce him to big shots like former Speaker Jacob Oulanyah (RIP) and tycoon Hamis Kiggundu.

Riding on his initial clout, Olaxxes did his magic on social media. He soon attracted the attention of both the high and low profile people. Among them was President Museveni, who he finally met on February 14, 2020, through then NRM secretary general Kasule Lumumba and events promoter Balaam Barugahare.

His meeting with Mr Museveni, to which he recorded a video that he unsurprisingly posted to his social media platformes, further proved his online might. When Uganda was sent into a pandemic-induced lockdown, Olaxxes the influencer also dabbled in painting to make ends meet.

Appearances on TV and radio also saw him gain fame. Ditto his Facebook live session.  Olaxxes was clearly a bright individual capable of holding his own on a range of issues. Articulate and exposed, unlike many of his colleagues, he stood out in his ability to dissect a topic, usually to suit his agenda.

In real life, though, he was quite different from the man seen on social media platforms. Olaxxes’s online persona and violence were never far from each other. Usually, his videos lacked a baseline. As a result, many termed him the master of hate speech.

And indeed Olaxxes wished death to many people; he celebrated the death of many people; he celebrated the pain of many people. That was him. Little wonder some people claimed it was not easy to grieve his death. Close friends, however, revealed that he was very remorseful of the many instances he came off as rude, insensitive and derogatory. This includes when he toasted to the 2020 November killings.

A vlogger, Olaxxes was in 2021 elected the first president of the Uganda Bloggers Association (UBA). At the time of his death, he was campaigning for a second term as president of the bloggers’ umbrella body he co-founded.

Olaxxes is survived by his father Kasaijja and dozens of siblings.