Kenzo gives Chameleone his flowers

• Eddy Kenzo has paid a lengthy tribute to Jose Chameleone on X.

• He credits Chameleone with helping Ugandan music gain confidence and a wider East African audience.

• Kenzo says Chameleone also opened opportunities for later musicians and other workers in the creative economy.

• He argues that Uganda should recognise its music pioneers while they are still alive.

Singer Eddy Kenzo has paid tribute to Jose Chameleone, describing him as one of the artistes who gave Ugandan popular music confidence, direction and a market beyond the country’s borders.

Kenzo, the president of the Uganda National Musicians Federation (UNMF) and senior presidential adviser on creatives, posted the tribute on X, saying the industry must recognise its pioneers while they are still alive. His appointment as presidential adviser dates back to August 2024.

“There are moments when we must rise above competition, generations, and the everyday pressures of our industry to give flowers where they are deserved,” Kenzo wrote.

“Today, I want to give mine to Dr. Jose Chameleone.”

Kenzo said Chameleone’s influence could not be measured by songs, concerts, awards or the length of his career alone.

He credited him with helping Ugandan music gain an identity at a time when local artistes were fighting for space in the East African market.

“He is part of the generation that gave Ugandan popular music confidence and direction,” Kenzo wrote.

He said Chameleone showed that a Ugandan musician could attract audiences across East Africa without abandoning his identity.

Kenzo pointed to Chameleone’s popularity in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. He described that reach as a form of cultural diplomacy.

“Nations are not represented only through diplomacy, politics, tourism or sport. They are also represented through their artists,” he said.

Kenzo also praised Chameleone for helping younger musicians view music as a profession capable of sustaining livelihoods.

He said the singer helped open a road for later generations and proved that Ugandan musicians could fill concerts and build names outside the country.

“His journey has therefore never belonged to Chameleone alone. It forms part of the history of an entire industry,” he said.

Kenzo said Chameleone had also created opportunities for instrumentalists, producers, managers, promoters and technicians attached to his career.

He praised his instinct for uniting musicians despite the rivalries that often divide the industry.

“Our industry will always have competition. We shall disagree. We shall belong to different generations, associations, management structures and artistic schools. But music must remain bigger than any one of us,” he wrote.

Kenzo has in recent years taken a central role in efforts to organise Uganda’s creative sector. As UNMF president, he has engaged government on copyright protection and other industry reforms. State House listed him among music sector leaders involved in talks on a copyright management system in 2025.

He ended his tribute by telling Chameleone, whose real name is Joseph Mayanja, that his place in the country’s music history was secure.

“Generations will interpret our era differently, but no serious account of modern Ugandan music can be complete without your name and contribution,” Kenzo said.