DNK International By Our Correspondent, Kampala
Veteran Ugandan musician, saxophonist, composer and Afrigo Band founding member Moses Matovu, who died on Thursday, September 24 aged 77, leaves behind a musical legacy spanning nearly six decades and one of the longest running live band institutions in Uganda.
Matovu was born on June 19, 1949, in Kawempe, Kampala, to Abdallah Bukenya and Solome Nakitto.
He grew up largely with his mother after his parents separated.
Matovu attended Namirembe Primary School, Kibuli Secondary School and Pillai’s Secondary School.
His education was interrupted in 1966 after the abolition of traditional institutions, as he had been studying under a Buganda Kingdom scholarship.
Before music became his lifelong profession, Matovu was also a talented footballer.
He played for clubs including Nakivubo Boys, Lint Marketing Board, Express FC, Police FC and Fiat FC before eventually choosing music.
His musical journey began in 1967 when he joined the Thunderbirds Band as a vocalist.
He moved to the Police Band in 1968 and later joined the Cranes Band in 1969, where he developed further as a vocalist, instrumentalist and composer.
His first known original composition, “Jimmy Sasira”, was recorded in 1970.
Following the break up of the Cranes Band, Matovu and fellow musicians formed Afrigo Band, which formally emerged in 1975.
The group became one of Uganda’s most enduring musical institutions, blending African rumba, jazz, funk, Congolese influences, Luganda lyrics and traditional Ugandan rhythms.
Matovu served as the band’s leader, vocalist, saxophonist, flautist, composer and mentor.
He was instrumental in maintaining Afrigo through different political eras, changing musical tastes and the deaths or departure of several founding members.
Afrigo’s early performances included venues such as Bat Valley, Little Flowers and Tropical Nightclub in Kampala.
The band later established itself at Club Obligato, which became closely associated with its live performances.
Matovu also helped turn Afrigo into a training ground for younger musicians, with performers such as Joanita Kawalya, Rachael Magoola, Sammy Kasule and Herman Ssewanyana among those associated with the group over the years.
The band’s music became part of Uganda’s cultural identity, with songs associated with Matovu and Afrigo including “Jimmy Sasira”, “Katonda Yakola Omukwano”, “Sipiidi Kendeeza”, “Sifaayo”, “Sirina Anantwala”, “Wapi Sofia” and “Emiziro”.
Afrigo also recorded numerous albums, with the 1989 “Afrigo Batuuse” project becoming an important point in the group’s international growth.
Matovu later remained active in the production of new music, including Afrigo’s 2019 “Teri Mubi” album.
His career also took him beyond Uganda.
Afrigo toured Europe and the United States, performing for Ugandan and African audiences in the diaspora.
In an interview in the capital Kampala a few months ago before his death with Daily News Kenya-International, Matovu recalled recording in London during the band’s international expansion and also working in Denmark with the group Images of Africa.
Afrigo’s international tours helped expose Ugandan live band music to audiences outside the country.
In Uganda, some of the major documented occasions in which Matovu and Afrigo performed included the band’s 2013 38th anniversary celebrations, the launch of the “Teri Mubi” album at Hotel Africana in Kampala in October 2019, and the group’s 50th anniversary celebrations in Kampala in August 2025.
Congolese music legend Koffi Olomidé was the major international headliner who performed alongside the Afrigo Band at their 50th anniversary golden jubilee concert.
The 50th anniversary concert at Millennium Grounds in Lugogo was particularly significant because Matovu, then 76, still took to the stage and performed alongside a younger generation of musicians.
Matovu’s contribution was not limited to performance.
He served as chairman of the Uganda Musicians Union and also chaired the Uganda Performing Rights Society for two terms, participating in efforts to advance musicians’ rights and interests.
His contribution to the creative industry earned him several honours, including a HiPipo Music Awards Lifetime Achievement Award and the inaugural Janzi Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021.
Away from the stage, Matovu was known for keeping much of his family life private,he was known to be a widower and had 11 children.
He also became known as a mentor who believed that Afrigo’s survival depended on recruiting and training younger musicians rather than allowing the band to disappear with its founding generation.
Back to his death, it came shortly after an early morning incident in Kibuli, Kampala.
According to police, Matovu went to the residence of a woman at about 5:30am on Thursday.
As he and the woman were leaving, they were allegedly confronted by a man believed to have previously been in a relationship with the woman.
A physical confrontation followed and Matovu sustained serious injuries before being taken to Kibuli Hospital, where he died.
Police have said the exact circumstances remain under investigation.
The woman who was with Matovu was iidentified as Rose Tumusiime,she was arrested and remained in police custody to assist detectives with investigations.
Police also arrested another suspect Vincent Nsamba, a private security guard, in Nansana, Wakiso District, in connection with the incident.
Matovu’s death brings to an end the life of a musician who spent almost 60 years in Uganda’s music industry and more than five decades at the heart of Afrigo Band.
His greatest legacy lies not only in the songs he recorded or the stages he graced in Uganda, Europe and the United States, but also in helping preserve live band music as a major part of Uganda’s cultural heritage.
For generations of Ugandans, Moses Matovu was more than the leader of Afrigo Band.
He was one of the musicians who helped build, preserve and pass on Uganda’s modern live band tradition.
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🗓️ [Daily News Kenya-International@September 25,2026]
