'Some groups' make 'noise' and call it music, says Museveni

"I see some groups making noise and calling it music," President Museveni said Monday while launching Omufunga Eizooba, a traditional 16-track album, which was curated by the Heritage Foundation, a brainchild of his daughter Natasha Museveni.

The songs on the album are Ente Yo'mwooro, Amabaare, Tu'mutwe, Abamuyogoore, Ihigiro, Enanga Y'orurembo, Ente Za'bhuwheju, Rugaiha, Abantu ba Nshaara, Bamagara, Rwakakaiga, Abasonga, Akabungo, Bari'Owabo and Bakakwata.

"This music album of 16 songs was composed many years ago but had remained undeveloped due to the unsettled colonial times. Some songs were resurrected by a young woman called Maaga who was the core of my music group in the bush days," Museveni said.

"The music is excellent. This is music and not noise and I enjoy it so much. I see some groups making noise and calling it music. It is the main music in my cars when I am driving, plus some religious tunes and NRM songs."

He went on: "The content is excellent ―dealings with contemporary social or political issues. The language is so rich. I used the songs to get vocabulary to enrich our Katondoozi. I thank Natasha, Ataho and the musicians for this contribution to the saving of our heritage and our identity."

President Museveni challenged Ugandans to use their rich cultural heritage and reject what he termed as the pathetic phenomenon of self-hatred that Africans.

He said that during the war he used to record songs and he would entrust his drivers to store them. Recently, Natasha visited the drivers and retrieved 119 songs.