Africa-Press – Uganda. ELECTIONS | ARTISTS
Music promoter Balaam Barugahare, musician Mark Bugembe also known as Butcher man together with his wife on Monday, launched the Museveni Election Music Awards (MEMA).
The launch of the awards was held at the National Resistance Movement secretariat in Kyadondo, Plot 10.
The launch was kicked off with a folk dance performance to entertain invited guests, sending some into a dancing mood.
The idea that was birthed by Butcher man and his wife a couple of months ago, is meant to appreciate and recognise those musicians that penned down talents through music in a bid to mobilise support for Presidential candidate Yoweri Museveni. The awards ceremony is set to be held on December 30 at Kati Kati in Lugogo.
The journey, according to Balaam Barugahare, started with 1000 applicants who submitted their songs to the organizers of the awards. Barugahare, however, adds that, “We had to reduce the number to 500 contestants because we would not want to crowd the awards venue. Going forward, we are going to sieve the number down to 200 nominees after which we shall select the best five,”
Butcher man’s wife, commonly known as Mama Ghetto, advised interested artistes to forward their songs to the official website, www.mema.ug, or via WhatsApp. “We also urge all the musicians who will be present on December 30 to abide by the Covid-19 Standard Operating Procedures.
At the climax of the awards, five winner winners will be selected and each will take home a sh5m cash prize. Barugahare intimated that President Museveni is expected to address the musicians participating in the competition on the day of the awards via zoom.
