Afrigo Band: five decades of Ugandan rhythm and resilience

In August 1975, eight young musicians from Kampala refused to let the dissolution of Cranes Band end their careers.
With no instruments and no means, but driven by the conviction that music belongs to them, they founded a formation that would survive dictatorships, civil wars, and technological upheavals. Afrigo Band, a contraction of “Africa go” in the musical sense, became Uganda’s oldest music institution¹.

In brief

Key Dates

Origins: from Cranes Band to Afrigo Band²

Born on June 19, 1949, in Kawempe, Kampala, Moses Matovu Bukenya — affectionately nicknamed “Papa Moi” — discovered music early on, singing in the choir of Namirembe Cathedral at around four years old. Passionate about football during his youth, he played for several Kampala clubs, but music emerged as his vocation. In 1967, he joined the Thunderbirds Band, then the Police Band, and finally Cranes Band in 1969. With this last group, he recorded his first original composition in 1970, ““Jimmy Saasira””, about a woman abandoned by her husband³.

When the Cranes Band management announced the group’s dissolution in 1975, Matovu refused to abandon music. Six fellow musicians decided to stay together. There were no instruments at that time, as the expulsion of Asians by Idi Amin had disrupted the Ugandan music market. The eight founders negotiated with Leonard Mugwanya, manager of Bat Valley Bar, who agreed to finance the purchase of instruments. The name Afrigo, a contraction of “Africa go,” was chosen to express their ambition.

Maturity: resilience, innovation, and recognition³

The 1980s constituted the most turbulent decade in Uganda’s history. From Amin’s regime to the civil war that led to Yoweri Museveni’s rise to power in 1986, Afrigo Band transformed into comfort for an exhausted population, playing at Nsambya Railway Club and Bat Valley Theatre. Their tracks ““Afrigo Batuuse””, ““Speed””, and ““Olulimi Lwange”” became popular anthems⁴.

The group’s sound fusion rests on Congolese rhythm and blues, jazz, funk, and traditional Ugandan rhythms, all wrapped in lyrics in Luganda, the language predominantly spoken in Kampala. This rooted identity ensures exceptional longevity. The group also produced in Denmark, recorded the album Volume 9, and became the first Ugandan band to release a CD². The 1990s marked a turning point with the arrival of Joanita Kawalya and Rachael Magoola in 1989. Their arrival brought a new dimension. The group embarked on tours in the United States and the United Kingdom for the Ugandan diaspora.

Moses Matovu understood the importance of organizational discipline as much as music. “You cannot be, let’s say, 40 years old, and you are still playing. It is not possible, except when you become a coach,” he declared to justify his life choice⁵. This pragmatic vision made him the undisputed engine. In 2015, Afrigo celebrated its 40th anniversary at Kampala’s Club Silk, and in 2022, it received the Lifetime Achievement Award from PAM Awards.

Major Works

Legacy²

Afrigo Band established itself as a full-fledged cultural institution. Their fidelity to the live format — saxophones, brass, guitars, percussion, vocals — kept a musical performance model alive at a time when Ugandan music was shifting toward programmed electronic production. The group trained and inspired generations of musicians who integrated the rigor of their arrangement approach.

The death of Moses Matovu on September 24, 2026, at the age of 77, plunged Uganda into mourning. Attacked in the Kibuli neighborhood, the founder never stopped directing or composing. Before disappearing, he summarized Afrigo’s longevity in three words: interest, commitment, and discipline. This treasure of experience remains, with more than 20 albums and 200 songs that constitute a musical heritage that all of Uganda continues to listen to and pass on.

Sources and references