Published by participants in the Certificate in Journalism programof the African Virtual University-Indiana University of Pennsylvania Partnership. |
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| Africa Star |
Former street child Wilson Bugembe has hit legacy pages with two albums bullying every other beat, note and tune all over the FM wave space, and enjoying a royal arena on the shelves of music stores.
The nineteen-year old gospel-hit maestro, whose first album Yellow registered enormous success is set to launch his second Walibade Mufu on June 13. “This one is the lion of the local music jungle,” Said one music vendor referring to the album. “It is the giant of the market.”
X-zone studio manager Brian the celebrity’s producer and Kampala’s number one gospel music producer said, “It is the star of the scene, period” when contacted to give comment on the new album.
However, the gospel icon’s music is widely mistaken for Legend Eli Wamala’s, given the mature outlay of his usually real personal true-life story lyrics, and for the most part the young man’s replica of the veteran’s voice.
Doing his thing on stage, even other renown gigantic performers in the music Quadra will not resist the waves of emotion that engulf the crowds and drown the multitudes into oceans of tears, sobs, outbursts and utter groanings.
Six years after living the street, Wilson Bugembe who has lost his entire family to the AIDS epidemic over the years is also set to join Makerere University come this October.
Bugembe is the second born of six boys all of whom were borne to HIV positive parents. He and his last born brother Brian narrowly escaped the killer epidemic when they were negative at birth. “Brian and I are a living miracle,” he says while seemingly to be carried away by a breeze of thought “My other brothers did not survive. They were born positive and subsequently conceded to the monster disease”.
At the age of ten Bugembe ran away from their home village in Masaka after the death of his father, the last of the family’s AIDS prey in 1995. “When my parents and four of my brothers had died, my grandfather begun to mistreat me and I fled to Kampala to live with my grandmother,” he said.
Life with grandmother was even worse after a while due to the in-blood family tendencies of child abuse mainly attributed to circumstances of their enormously large family on Rubaga road. “It was sheer survival for the fittest” said Bugembe who had no choice at the time but to take the hard way out.
It was then that the teenage star who is also the senior pastor of Light the World Ministries resorted to Kampala streets and was confined to the city’s dustbin menu and tree shelter for over two years before a Good Samaritan passed his way and picked him off.
Patrick Ssemambo who worked with top radio a Christian FM station had an encounter with the minute orphan who was crying under the big tree opposite the NETICO building where the FM station operated from at the time.
The Good Samaritan had no choice but to take the lad to Trumpet Center, a born-again Christian Church situated in the heart of Kampala, where on the following Sunday the congregation was challenged to walk the Christian talk and stand with the needy boy.
Mr Mbogo deceased, then director of High Way College happened to be in the congregation and became the doer of the word at the end of day, taking Bugeme home with him for a better menu and shelter. The humble child won himself the ultimate opportunity to live like a child again. He was right away enrolled in Mbogo’s family and school.
Pastor Bugeme was unfortunately thrown back on the fetters of fatherlessness when his new loving father died shortly after. “I totally blacked out in blur for days, wondering what in the world I was for”. Sobs the preacher.
Fortunately the boy was left in what turned out to be safe hands of an even more passionate angelic guardian. Maureen Mbogo, the current director of High Way College and member of Bugembe’s music band picked up from where her husband had stopped with the boy.
The lady has mothered Bugembe right from senior one until today. And the senior is all praises for his young mother who can’t wait to push the gospel icon even to the university and through.
It has been six years since. And now Makerere University has swung its doors open for the young preacher to come in with his Beats and the Word. “I will be doing computer science and preaching of course,” he excitedly stresses “That’s the motor that drives my whole being on the inside. Lighting this increasingly darkening world with the gospel of Jesus Christ”.
Pastor Bugembe looks up to praise his Father in heaven, and mother on earth at the task to describe his guardian mother. “God could not have used a better person to recycle an utterly wasted, hopeless street-wrecked orphan like me,’ he said, “Not even Hilfigar could have fabricated such a rug like I was into a designer coat of many colors,” said the young pastor in honor of his mother.
However, the lady who is taking on more than hundred and fifty other homeless teenagers and infants in her house and school denies any credit of it all. “You know that’s God’s share of Glory and no one is entitled to it,” she seriously emphasizes. “I am so grateful to God who gave me Wilson as a gift along with the grace to love him as my own child”
According to Maureen Mbogo, part of the credit goes to a number of the maestro’s teenage friends who have been with him ever since he left the streets. Pastors Wilfred and Philip, another teenage duo and his band members, who are also his assistants at Light the world Church, along with Rose Omwa have been part of the support system to the young man’s music and church ministry.
In his early school days, then small voiced little Bugembe went singing his Aids songs for other homeless children and orphans, whom he begun to ferry into the school. “I would bring them into the dormitory and share bed and everything else with them” recalls the nineteen year old who is currently fathering over fifty teenagers in his Namungona home.
He then began to ask his adopted mother to allow the same hand that fed him to be extended to these as well. Mbogo whose last choice was to turn a deaf ear conceded and consequently became the mother of hundreds that she is today.
One morning Bugembe woke up to find his voice gone. Left with one reduced to just a portion enough for him to speak, the Hit star resorted to seeking God through prayer and fasting. “I realized I needed God more than anything else like never before.”
With the help of his colleagues, Bugembe began to organize and spear head scripture union and vibrant worship fellowships in the school, in which multitudes of students, members of the teaching staff as well as school workers gave their lives to Christ.
“We did this for a long time and revival broke out and swept the entire school,” narrates the young pastor. Since then, Just like Jesus came as God in the flesh High Way College’s outlook changed into an angel of hope in a school formation.
It was then that God began to speak clearly to the young man’s heart and through open visions, and confirming with prophetic voices and utterance by great men of God upon the child and through scripture that he was called to bring many to Christ, and to pastor them.
Two years later, out of the blue the teenage gospel musician and father of many woke up one morning to an offer of an awesome big wonder-voice from the lord. “His voice fell from heaven,” said one of his female friends. “ Up to now we don’t ever seem to get over it. And Pastor Wilson lives in awe”.
Buegembe who was training the choir and worship team as well as leading praise hearkened to Omwa’s proposal for the current beat and sound celebrity to record an album.
The nineteen year old bought the idea and along with his guardian mother Maureen, Philip, Rose, Wilfred and a number of others took on a recording project, which produced his first and popular album yellow. “I just did simply for recording purposes,” says the gospel music star whose last thought was to market and sell the music.
The album label yellow is a song that talks more about the teenage legend’s life experiences right from when his parents were still living through to his new life with the Mbogs.
When it was released, two years ego, the album that was originally not for sale could not resist the high demand both in Christian and worldly circles that welcomed it. Eventually Yellow had no choice but to leave the signer’s suitcase for the market that was not planned for.
With the proceeds from the excessively successful showpiece Bugembe now rents a house where he lives with his large family of teenagers, infants and others in their twenties, plus many who finish their studies at High Way College and have nowhere to go.
The nineteen-year-old father of many also jointly caters for some of the children with his mother Maureen. “He is one boy that the world is in for a challenge with,” said Mbogo who is encouraged to see that at least one young boy has mastered the lessons life had to offer.
The hyper-demanded gospel music maestro who has around fifteen of his boys in need of sponsorship for university has since released his second called Walibade mufu, to be launched on June 13.
Wilson Bugembe an acclaimed gospel singer, preacher, pastor and adopted father of many has become come the national house-hold name that seems to read on everybody’s lips at a tender age of nineteen years.
The legend who has a personal copy of The Passion of Christ but is yet to fix time to watch it says that his passion as a disciple and servant Christ is to take light to the sick world. “It is my cry that all people come to know Christ and his power to transform lives,” he said. |
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Man shall not live by bread alone
Right to left: Pastors Wilfred, Wilson Bugembe, Philip and a colleague, four years go
Scroll for more pictures (next page) bellow.
Tell me more about yourself
Bugembe (Striped T-shirt) talks to African Star reporter James Kirungi (with hat)
Scroll for more pictures (next page) bellow.
These are the Nineties
Bugembe (Right), Little brothers Brian (center) and one of the dead others
Scroll for more pictures (next page) bellow.
Mother of many
Mrs. Maureen Mbogo Wilson’s adopted mother
Scroll for more pictures (next page) bellow.
Father of nations
Father Abraham; Bugembe (striped T-Shirt) addresses sons and daughters at his Namungona residence
I will send more tomorrow of Bugembe preaching in his church and when on stage performing.
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The
African Star
