Rachael Magoola is a

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country 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 south by Tanzania. The south ...

n singer, songwriter, dancer, and politician. She is one of the members of

Afrigo Band The Afrigo Band is a musical band in Uganda. It is the longest-lasting musical group in the history of Uganda, having existed for 44 years by August 2019. History The band was formed by a group of eight musicians led by their band leader, vocalis ...

. In the 2021 general election she was elected to Parliament, as the women's representative in

Bugweri District Bugweri District is a district in Busoga region, Eastern Uganda The Eastern region is one of four regions in the country of Uganda. As of Uganda's 2014 census, the region's population was . Districts , the Eastern Region contained 32 distr ...

, for the

National Resistance Movement The National Resistance Movement ( sw, Harakati za Upinzani za Kitaifa; abbr. NRM) has been the ruling party in Uganda since 1986. History The National Resistance Movement (NRM) was founded as a liberation movement that waged a guerrilla w ...

Early life and education

Magoola’s musical journey started at home where her father, the late Nicholas Magoola, was a music teacher at several colleges in eastern Uganda. As a young girl she sang in the church choir and played musical instruments at home. In Senior Two she was expelled from

Tororo Girls School Tororo Girls Secondary School, commonly known as Tororo Girls School (TGS), is an all-girls boarding school covering grades 8 -13 in the Eastern Region of Uganda. Location TGS is in the town of Tororo, about southeast of the town's central busin ...

for performing in a band while on a school break. In 1983 Magoola joined

Namasagali College Namasagali College is a mixed boarding middle and high school located in Kamuli District in Eastern Uganda. Location The school is situated on a campus at Namasagali, approximately , by road, northwest of the town of Kamuli, where the district ...

and later "Kaliro Teacher Training College" where she trained as a secondary school teacher, specialising in music and languages. She taught at Namasagali College until 1993 when she left for

Kyambogo University Kyambogo University (KYU) is a public university in Uganda. It is one of the eight public universities and degree-awarding institutions in the country with the motto, "Knowledge and Skills for Service." History Kyambogo University was establishe ...

where she studied a degree course in education, majoring in Music. Although she was the best student in her class Magoola didn’t graduate because she was discontinued from her course for absconding when she went on tour with Afrigo Band. She recorded

Obangaina "Obangaina" is a song recorded by Rachel Magoola with Afrigo Band and released in 1999. In 2021, singer YKee Benda recorded a cover of the song for his 2021 album ''Kirabo''. Composition Ykee Benda was a very young boy when the original song ...

in London with Afrigo Band and the song became an instant hit. Magoola went back to Kyambogo University in 2012 to complete and receive her education degree.

Music

Magoola joined Afrigo where she arranged a lot of the music and choreography. In 2001 Rachel formed and launched her own group which recorded three albums: ''Inhaife'', ''Tyenda Wundi'' and ''Tonyiiga''. In 2003, she left Afrigo band and Uganda, for the United Kingdom. At London's South Bank she led the 'Women of Kampala' group in London's African Music Festival and collaborated with South African trumpeter Claude Deppa. In 2009 Rachel and her band performed at the Sauti za Busara festival in Zanzibar. Her compositions contain elements of languages and traditional rhythms from all regions of Uganda, as well as reggae and zouk. Magoola has a total of six albums: ''Inhaife'' (1997), ''Tyenda Wundi'' (1998), ''Tonyiiga'' (2000), ''Atubembe'' (2001), ''Songs from the Source of the Nile'' (2005) and ''Eisadha'' (2008).

Discography

*''Inhaife'' (1997) *''Tyenda Wundi'' (1998) *''Tonyiiga'' (2000) *''Atubembe'' (2001) *''Songs from the Source of the Nile'' (2005) *''Eisadha'' (2008)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magoola, Rachael 1966 births 21st-century Ugandan women singers 20th-century Ugandan women singers Living people Kumusha Members of Afrigo Band Kyambogo University alumni Place of birth missing (living people) People educated at Tororo Girls School National Resistance Movement politicians Members of the Parliament of Uganda Women members of the Parliament of Uganda 21st-century Ugandan politicians 21st-century Ugandan women politicians