Afrigo Band is a musical band in

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

. It is the longest-lasting musical group in the history of Uganda, having existed for 44 years by August 2019. It is led by

Moses Matovu ''This is an article about a Ugandan band head musician.'' Moses Matovu is a Ugandan musician and saxophonist. He is one of the founders of Afrigo Band, Uganda's longest-lasting band, founded in 1975. Early childhood and education Matovu was bor ...

History

The band was formed by a group of eight musicians led by their band leader,

vocalist Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

, and alto

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

, Moses Matovu, who continued to lead the band on its 38th anniversary. Playing to their fans at home in Uganda, the group tours regularly in Europe and the United States to play to Ugandans in the Diaspora. He has been performing with the band since and is its leader, as of February 2015. The eight founding band members were: *

* Charles Ssekyanzi * Jeff Sewava * Paddy Nsubuga * Paulo Serumagga * Fred Luyombya * Anthony Kyeyune * Geoffrey Kizito

Band members

, all except one of the founding band members had died. The band recruited replacements whenever a member left or died. Members of the band, past and present, include: *

- founder member, band leader, saxophonist, lead vocals, composer * Deo Mukungu - member, vocalist * Herman Ssewanyana - congas * Charles Ssekyanzi Mutagubya - vocalist, trumpet player, composer * Mansur Bulegeya Akiki - tenor saxophonist * Joanita Kawalya - vocalist, dancer *

Rachael Magoola Rachael Magoola is a Ugandan singer, songwriter, dancer, and politician. She is one of the members of Afrigo Band. In the 2021 general election she was elected to Parliament, as the women's representative in Bugweri District, for the National ...

- vocalist, dancer, composer * Rashid Musoke - member * Paul Serumaga - founder member * Godfrey Mwambala - member * Tony Sengo - member * Tonny Ssenkebejje - solo guitarist * Fred Kigozi - member * Peter Bazanye - vocals * Joe Tabula - vocals * Frank Mbalire guitarist/vocals * Edmond Ganja - guitarist/vocals * Sammy Kasule - bassist/vocals * Charles Busuulwa - bassist * Eric Sabiiti - drummer * Julious Nshaba - drummer * Daniel Kaggwa - keyboards * Isaac Zzimbe - drummer * Jacinta Wamboga - dancer * Sarah Namiyonga - dancer * Aminye Rhoose - dancer

Discography

Some of the records and albums released by the band include the following:

Recent developments

In January 2015, Afrigo Band began regular performances at ''Club Silk'', in

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,875,834 (2024) and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kampala, Kawempe Division, Kawempe, Makindy ...

's Industrial area, every Friday evening. Although the club attracts a predominantly young audience, with the arrival of Afrigo, Club Silk is expected to ring in more mature revelers, above the age of 40 years. In November 2015, the band celebrated its 40th anniversary with a sold-out concert at ''Hotel Africana'', in Kampala.

References

External links