Ronald Mukasa Ssebunya
Premium memorialLovingly known as “Roni”
3 December 1988 — 22 August 2022 · aged 33
Kadongo kamu singer-songwriter who taught Kabalagala's children music every Saturday
Kampala, Uganda Born in Masaka, Masaka District Resting at Family home, MasakaAbout Ronald
The first song Ronald Mukasa wrote was about a hen that refused to cross the road, and he sang it to his grandmother in Masaka when he was seven. She laughed so hard she dropped the cassava, and he decided on the spot that making people laugh with a guitar was the best job in the world. He spent the next twenty-six years proving it.
He was born in 1988, the third of five children, and learned his first chords from the choirmaster at his parish. After secondary school he went to Makerere University to study music, and in 2011 moved to Kampala with a guitar, a suitcase and a notebook of lyrics, playing for tips in Kabalagala bars and at wedding receptions across Buganda. He mixed the storytelling tradition of kadongo kamu with acoustic guitar and a light Afro-fusion touch, singing in Luganda and sometimes English, and his song 'Enyanja' became a wedding staple that couples still request.
But his proudest work happened on Saturday mornings, when he opened the doors of a hired hall in Kabalagala and taught free music lessons to any child who turned up. There were thirty on the first day and more than a hundred by the last. He lent out his own guitars, fixed broken strings with whatever was to hand, and made every child perform at the end of term, however nervous, because 'a song is not a song until somebody hears it'. He was a loyal friend, a terrible cook and a very good listener.
Ronald died in August 2022, aged thirty-three, after a short illness. He leaves his mother, his siblings and a hall full of children who keep singing.
“A song is not a song until somebody hears it.”
- Faith
- Christian
- Place of birth
- Masaka, Masaka District
- Resting place
- Family home, Masaka
- Passed away
- 22 August 2022, Kampala
Requiem Mass
Saturday, 27 August 2022 at 09:00 UTC
Add to calendarMemorial fund
Saturday Music Club fund
Keep Roni's free Saturday music classes going: hall rent, guitars, strings and a stage for the children to perform on.
$1,952.25 raised of $4,000
49%20 recent contributions
- DW
Daniel Wasswa gave $47.50 · 3y ago
- HK
Harjit Kaur gave $142.50 · 3y ago
“A small token of love.”
- AF
Alan Fortuin gave $14.25 · 3y ago
- HK
Heinz Kruse gave $95 · 3y ago
“Pole sana to the family.”
- BK
Brian Kakooza gave $142.50 · 3y ago
“From your old classmates.”
Life journey
Bachelor of Music
Makerere University2007 – 2011 · Kampala
Graduated with a degree in music and a passion for storytelling.
Moved to Kampala with a guitar and a notebook
2011 · Kampala
Played for tips in Kabalagala bars and wedding receptions.
Singer-songwriter
Independent artist2012 – 2022 · Kampala
Released two albums blending kadongo kamu with acoustic guitar.
Founder, Saturday Music Club
Kabalagala Children's Music Club2016 – 2022 · Kabalagala, Kampala
Free music lessons for over a hundred children.
Choir accompanist
Christ the King Church2012 – 2022 · Kampala
Played guitar for the Sunday youth Mass.
Tap an organisation to find others who studied or worked there.
Family & connections
Ronald is survived by
- Margaret Namatovu· Mother
- Grace Nambi Ssebunya· Sister
- Peter Kayiwa Ssebunya· Brother
- Daniel Wasswa· Friend
Tributes & memories
5 people have shared a memory of Ronald.
Knew Ronald? Share a memory with the family and everyone who loved them.
Sign in to write a tribute- AK
Producer, London
Roni recorded his second album in a rented bedroom with a duvet over the microphone. He took the cheapest gear and made it sound like a cathedral. I told him he was a genius. He said, 'No, I am a teacher who plays.' He was both.
- BK
Student of the Saturday Music Club
I was twelve and could not read notes. Teacher Roni gave me a guitar and said, 'Pluck, then think.' Now I am eighteen and in a church band. I tell the little ones, 'Pluck, then think.' I will keep teaching, Teacher.
- GS
Sister
Our mother says he came into the world singing, and left it the same way, with a half-finished song in his notebook. We found it. We are finishing it together, with the children from the club. It is about a hen that finally crosses the road.
- JN
Fan and neighbour in Kabalagala
Roni sang to the whole street from his balcony on the night his second album came out. Strangers danced in the dust. Afterwards he came down with tea for the old people who had been listening. That boy had music in every pocket.
- DW
Bandmate and friend
Roni and I played eleven years of weddings together. He would introduce every song with a joke and finish with a prayer. At his last gig, the bride's grandmother danced with a stick. He said, 'That is why we play.' I cannot pick up my bass without him.
