Artistes that walked the cougar lane

Big Eye and Sheila Don Zella

Many have postulated that Big Eye’s fall out with Eddy Kenzo was because of Sheila Don Zella. It was Eddy Kenzo who introduced Sheila to Big Eye (Ibrahim Mayanja). Sheila took interest in this young and upcoming musician and offered to be his promoter, providing him with all the much-needed financial muscle. It went beyond financial muscle and blossomed into a marriage with a child. Their relationship took a twist after Sheila had a miscarriage that claimed their twins. The two begun exchanging stories and accusations and called the relationship quits. Ever since the two broke up, Sheila has transitioned into a city and social media socialite while Big Eye hooked up a younger woman and the two are planning their wedding. To add salt to injury, Big Eye recently released a new song; Bantute.

King Michael and Madame Sherry Adyeri

 

Born Michael Mugwanya, DJ Michael aka King Michael could not resist the warm embrace of Madame Sherry, owner of Kabalagala’s Café Cheri and Cheri Royale. To prove her love to him, Sherry gifted King Michael with a brand new Toyota Surf. This gift ignited beef between Jose Chameleone and King Michael. Chameleone was rumoured as a silent side-dish to Sherry. King Michael would stamp this with a beef song aimed at Chameleone. The song hit hard at Chameleone for being greedy. If there is one sugar mummy that deserves the crown in this field, then Adyeri should surely take it. She has also been linked to other musicians in recent years.
Jose Chameleone and Griet Onsea aka Dorotia

A love too good to be true that Chameleone even did a song, Dorotia, in dedication to his Belgian sugar mummy. The song rocked local air waves in the days when landing a Caucasian beauty was among the dreams of many Ugandan men. Together, they had a child named Ayla Shyne. Chameleone was so fond of his first child that he even sung about her in Nekoleera Maali, talking of how he toiled to make sure Ayla and Dorotia would have the best of days. It was Dorotia that gave Chameleone his first car and fully sponsored his first album. The two broke up bitterly in the 2000s, even though they never went public about the cause. In 2007 Dorotia, now 45 years old, was to be arrested and sentenced by a US court for attempting to import cocaine into East Africa. Chameleone tried to use this opportunity to secure child custody but it did not work out. There still remains a big rift between the two ex-lovers even though they have both fully moved on to new partners.

Jamal Wasswa and Leticia Ssebowa

Of the most secret of love birds, this one won it all. Leticia Ssebowa was known for her unending love for young Ugandan musicians. Jamal Wasswa happened to be one of those in her line of trade. Jamal would later open up about the break-up in a song titled Kangende, where he narrated the ordeals. In the song, Jamal emphasised that it made no point wasting her time when he had his real lover waiting for him.
Dr. Tee and Betty Mpologoma

Not your Sqoop kind of celebrities, but this relationship got us talking. Dr Tee (Travis Kazibwe) went ahead and got married to fellow musician, Betty Mpologoma. Later, the marriage would hit a snag after Mpologoma discovered that Dr Tee had earlier been married customarily. Mpologoma would always go on to credit Dr Tee for his role as a promoter, music producer (at Tee’s music studio in Mengo), but above all, the man who knew how to open her love taps.

Guvnor Ace and Mona Lisa Larsson

Of all cougar relationships that broke the Internet, this took first position. Defying all measures and conventions, 28-year-old Guvnor Ace (Ronald Semawere) chose to marry his grandmother, 68-year-old Mona Lisa. Before the wedding, Guvnor Ace released his Mukadde song, praising his beautiful granny. He was never discreet about it. If beauty lay in the eyes of the beholder, Ace was to confirm that saying. A year later, the couple broke up. Ace had achieved his green card dream of getting to Sweden and bidding poverty farewell. Poor old Mona Lisa on the other hand, was left crying buckets of tears on the Internet and rumour had it she had hooked up another little budding artiste only known as Azizi.

Sizzaman and Straka Mwezi

This was a relationship that put the nation on a standstill. It was superbly dramatic that they even decided to turn their wedding into a function where guests would have to pay to attend. The public wedding slated for Nambole Stadium flopped as the groom, Sizzaman, developed cold feet. Straka became unconscious and had to be rushed to a hospital as revellers broke chairs out of anger and frustration. All that is now left of that relationship is the child the two had together. Sizzaman lost out on a music promoter and Straka went on to plait more coloured hair.

Ronnie Stamina and Dubai Sugar Mummy

Dubai has become the sugar mummy hot spot for Ugandan musicians seeking out cougars. Whenever most go to Dubai for shows, they are bound to come back with full pockets in exchange for their love or one night moments. Eddy Kenzo’s former dancer, Ronnie was one of those who could not resist the urge of the Dubai cougars. No sooner had he landed in Dubai than he hooked up with a Ugandan Nkuba Kyeyo based there. He later unveiled a Hummer that was gifted to him on his birthday by this madame, who remains unnamed to date. The two are still dating.

Unverified

These cougar relationships have remained in the pipeline without much verification. The artistes in this category include Tonix, Yoyo, and Khalifah Aganaga just to mention but a few. Another of those artistes who came open about his sugar mummy relationships was Abdu Mulaasi and even had a song to go with it; “enkulu tenywa?” to mean; “doesn’t the old cow drink?”

HOW THEY LIKED ‘EM: Uganda has had its fair share of cougars seeking out its musicians. The relationships were all over the newspapers. Society talked, some supported, some bashed these music artistes and time was left to vindicate the sides. In the end, most, if not all of these relationships failed. Why didn’t they work out? Were they really all about the money or there was love involved? Who are our Ashton Kutchers and Demi Moores? Our writer brings you the Ugandan musical cubs and their cougars over the years.