Azawi likens Deputy Speaker Tayebwa to Bajjo

The Swangz Avenue songstress came out to clear the air on her earlier comments which were interpreted by some as disrespectful to the two Ugandan music greats.

In a TV Interview on September 26, Azawi, real names Priscilla Zawedde confronted Tayebwa who had earlier proposed the Bebe Cool - Chameleone battle, having attended and enjoyed another battle between Cindy and Sheebah Karungi.

She said the money for such a battle would cause divisions in the industry and should instead be diverted toward promoting young talents.

When asked last week, however, if her comments were aimed at the big artists, she said that was not her intent.

Instead, she said, she was targeting the deputy speaker himself, whom she accused of not being farsighted about the Ugandan entertainment industry.

Azawi in particular blamed the speaker for approaching the entire music support situation from a promoter’s perspective rather than a highly high-level government official.

“These politicians, when we call them to our shows, we don’t invite them to come and just enjoy the performance; we want them to see how Ugandans are supporting us,” she said. 

“Hon Tayebwa is a powerful man, but it disheartens me to see that he came out of that (Cindy-Sheebah) battle with the same mindset as Bajjo,” she said, implying that the deputy was only focused on the financial benefit from the battle like any typical music promoter.

"He has to reason better… he should be thinking about how the government can support us to benefit from our work because by doing so, they are not only helping Ugandan artists but also growing the government tax base.

She added, “We cannot all contest for positions in Parliament. They as political leaders should do their work. If the speaker is truly a supporter of Ugandan music then he ought to do more.”