Uganda: Renowned songwriter Saxess Busulwa passes on

Saxess, who was in a car accident a decade ago, went under the knife this July when metal implants in his hips broke. Complications arose again and he had to be admitted to hospital this month. The songwriter died after a failed abdominal surgery.

In the country’s entertainment industry, Saxess was one of the most vocal people who was pushing the Save Uganda Music campaign that was launched in September. Artists and key players came together to protest decreased airplay of Ugandan music on local radio stations. The campaign also led some artists to detach themselves from the Uganda Performers’ Rights Society.

During 2014’s HiPipo Music Awards, Saxess was named the Best Songwriter. He is known as the brains behind some of Uganda’s most successful songs. Examples of hits he penned include, Jackie Chandiru’s ‘Gold Digger’ and ‘Never be the Same’, and Juliana Kanyomozi’s ‘Eddiba’.

Not only did he work with the big names in Uganda, Saxess’ songwriting genius was appreciated by artists across the East African region. In Kenya, the songwriter worked with Nameless to come up with the lyrics to ‘Butterfly’.

Here are two songs that Saxess wrote: