)
)
Comedian Herbert Mendo Ssegujja, aka Teacher Mpamire, has accused singer Edirisa Musuuza, better known as Eddy Kenzo, of diverting government funds worth over Shs. 5billion allocated for creatives.
In an appeal for funding, Mpamire noted that the government allocated Shs5bn, but the money was allegedly diverted to cater for musicians.
"The government gave Creatives 5 billion shillings, but all the money was diverted to Music Federation under Eddy Kenzo," Mpamire wrote on Facebook.
"Does the word 'Creatives' mean only Musicians?” he pondered before adding.
)
)
)
Teacher Mpamire
“Where does it leave us, Comedians and other Creatives? Is Eddy Kenzo a presidential advisor for only Music Creatives?"
The Shs5bn cash injection was an initiative by Eddy Kenzo to support musicians under the Uganda National Musicians Federation umbrella. The funds were released in March last year and restricted to only members of the federation.
“The money that is meant for artists has been released, and we are now waiting for it to go to work like we had planned. Only artists who are registered with our SACCO can access the funds,” Kenzo stated last year.
More cash, more fights
The government has allocated a hefty Shs66bn to the creative sector in the 2025/26 Financial Year budget.
According to reports, the government is releasing Shs33bn in the first quarter.
Now, other players in the creative sector have echoed concerns that they might once again be left out of the free-fall.
Recently, events promoter Abtex announced plans to mobilise promoters to ban Kenzo and members of the musicians’ federation from performing at their events, alleging that the Twist singer has reportedly blocked event promoters from accessing the Shs33bn from the government.
“Eddy Kenzo has shown that he doesn’t need us. He’s the one hindering our access to the President. Yet we have many challenges as promoters that also need attention. From today, we’ve banned him from singing on any stage organised by us,” he said before adding.
“We are tired of the disrespect by artists. Every time the government considers support, it only focuses on the musicians and forgets the rest of us. How much are we, the promoters, getting from the Shs33bn ?”