It’s difficult to define what makes someone controversial, but it usually involves something about them, whether words, deeds, or actions that have divided public opinion. Sometimes they were involved in scandals that made them unpopular for a certain amount of time and then they rebounded. Other times, they’ve led controversial lives from the beginning. For some public figures, controversy walks beside them everywhere they go, in everything they do and say.
Some individuals are controversial by nature that’s why their scandals are far-reaching than others. Well today in our #FRIDAY LIST SERIES, we bring you UGANDA’S TOP 10 MOST CONTROVERSIAL MEDIA PERSONALITIES!!!! Enjoyyyyy
SHEILA CAROL GASHUMBA
Since making her break through as a very talented young presenter, Sheilah Gashumba has lived a life of controversies and she has thrived on scandals. Listing down Sheilah’s scandals is equivalent to writing a book, suggest a title if you wish. Her latest controversy happened almost a week ago when she was unveiled as the new #NBSAfter5 presenter. This was because the presenter had vowed to never work on any Ugandan TV or media house due to their unending poor pay.
This U-Turn follows many other controversies associated with the socialite ranging from failed relationships, men fights, alleged nude leakage among others. The presenter recently hooked up Ugandan based Sweden rapper RickmanRick who is currently her lover. This followed her ex lover Marcus Lwanga alias Gods Plan dumping her for a more sexier and sizeable town belle.
PATRICK “DISTRICT” KANYOMOZI
If you are well versed with the twitter streets, then you know that there exists the President of the Ugandans on Twitter Community who is a die hard supporter of People Power/NUP. Patrick Kanyomozi. Patrick is a sports journalist and president of the Uganda Sports Press Association (USPA). A very calm and humble person in real life, but quite outspoken and witty on social media not only about sports but also politics and social life.
Kanyomozi’s content on social media is not just funny but many times punctuated with an element of reverse psychology. While many are crying about floods, he will take to Facebook to punch out his hilarious take on why floods are actually a blessing to Kampala. He will always find a funny and light side even from a serious topic because he probably believes life should not be too serious.
The sports journalist has in the past been vibrant in defending Bobiwine and the National Unity Platfrom with an enthusiastic spark. One of those that faced his wrath is controversial and motor mouthed Andrew Mwenda who had joined people power/NUP and sought to stand as a president in the party. According to Patrick Kanyomozi’s tweet, he said that NUP lost Full figure but her position has been replaced by Andrew Mwenda, a hooligan who is more educated this time.
On how Patrick got the name district, he took up the name when government was creating so many districts and he wrote on social media that everyone one day will become a district. So he called himself Kanyomozi District and surprisingly, some people now just call him District.
SAMSON KASUMBA MULUMBA
Undoubtedly one of the most controversial Twitter users and most hit at on the blue bird app. This is because he has always proved to be a man who does not mince his words and is always ready to take a bullet for his principles. Kasumba is known to clash with his followers on Twitter due to his opinions which most of his followers find disturbing and controversial.
The flamboyant journalist usually clashes with NUP supporters due to his faulting of their principal Bobi Wine. Kasumba has proven over time that his flamboyance does not only stop on just reading news on NBS TV but even in his reasoning. The journalist is always exchanging one twos with his followers who feel that he should succumb to their wishes. He is someone who has always tried to show the value of having a well set up brand and he’s built his from scratch and often boasts about.
He once shut down all who accuse him for posting pictures with his beautiful female workmates. This came following several comments from different people who accused him that he would rather pose and post pictures with beautiful and young news anchors on NBS than his wife.
In response to this he took a picture of himself and Sheilah Mugisha on his twitter handle, saying that he does not work with a building site to take pictures with bricks and sand. He said he works with beautiful women and it is part of his job to pose with them.
TINAH FIERCE
Tinah took over popular gossip show Scoop on Scoop from Mary Luswata who seemed to have gotten weighed down by a beckoning conscientiousness, or perhaps mounting pressure from her fans to constantly draw from a creative well that was running dry, or threats from her subjects, or just a combination of all of the above. But with this, while on the show, Tinah had her dose of backlash from fans and celebrities because of the structure of the show and her role as the host of the show that had fast become a center of controversy.
On her former TV show and her current Tinah’s Random Thoughts show on Youtube, Tinah talks gossip and gives her opinion about events that happen in the showbiz and social world, however, this does not really go well with so many people. Tina however says the backlash keeps her going. In a YouTube interview with Crystal Newman, Tinah said she does not mind the negativity. “I live for the negativity. If no one is saying anything, it means you are doing absolutely nothing,” she said.
FATBOY JAMES ONEN
Commonly known as Fatboy, radio personality James Onen is socially known for his controversial stances on marriage and atheism, among others. Fatboy swears he will never marry. Not in a million years. Yet, he dreams of having children one day and only after he has found the right woman. In Onen’s estimation, marriage is not practical. He says in the past, marriage worked because it was needed for survival. It was difficult for a woman to survive without a man and vice versa. Children were an input, economically.
Onen’s peculiarity is not just about marriage. He is a self-claimed atheist in a country teeming with millions of believers. He does not believe in religion, yet he has a Christian name (James). “A name is just a name. I have kept it for the same reason that the days of the week were named after the gods,” he says and goes on to explain that Sunday is Sun’s day, Monday — Moon’s day, Tuesday — Tiu’s day, Wednesday — Woden’s day, Thursday — Thor’s day, Friday is Freya’s day while Saturday was named for Saturn. All those things are gods. So a name is just a name.” Fatboy says.
In Facebook post while he still worked at Sanyu FM, Onen said his demanding job which requires him to wake up at 4:00am is the reason he has not had children. “I think I exaggerated a little bit,” Onen said. “My hours are crazy. I have been going to work at 4:00am since 2004. I do not stay up late. And I spend a lot of time reading and researching so that my show is great,” he added..
FARIDAH NAKAZIBWE
NTV Uganda popular news anchor Faridah Nakazibwe has also found her way onto our controversial media personalities list. Despite her beauty and good character, Nakazibwe still finds herself unlucky to get the man to settle with her and this is where most of her controversies draw from. Nakazibwe has been involved in several fights with women over men. In 2018, in a thinly veiled warning to former workmate turned ‘enemy’ Justine Nameere on Facebook, Nakazibwe asked her to know her level and leave her then man Umar Ssali—sparking off another social media battlethat has till today not ended.
The duo has for long been entangled in social media wars—accusing each other of defamation among others — leading to tension and legal battles, sometimes fueled by fans. Ms Nameere is accused of resurrecting the battle after she accused Ms Nakazibwe of framing her workmates whom she allegedly said were trying to woo her former boyfriend, a one Umar Ssali. seem so desperate to walk down the aisle and settle for once and for all. Unfortunately the marriage collapsed in 2019 after Faridah found out that Umar Ssali was a lier and a conman according to her nemesis, Justine Nameere.
Before dating Ssali,the mother of two girls dumped NRM national vice-chairperson, Al-hajji Moses Kigongo in 2016. The celebrated journalist has been through all the ups and downs of life and she believes she is a better person now. In 2020, Faridah also got exhausted with the sanctioning of thievery of public funds by members of parliament yet starving Ugandans were yearning for at least a meal from the government during the lockdown, Nakazibwe was forced to relate speaker of parliament Rt. Hon. Rebecca Alitwara Kadaga to a used Ngabo Condom and later retrieved the statement with an apology following pressure from her social media Twitter followers.
The public at large, through the media and other avenues, is up in arms over media reports that the Parliamentary Commission was allocated shs10billion during the disbursement of supplementary funds intended to facilitate the fight against Covid-19 in Uganda with each parliamentary legislator’s bank account loaded with shs20million all being instituted by the speaker of parliament.
KASUKU KUKU WAZABANGA
Kasuku is a presenter at Dembe FM and Spark TV. He is a man whose career is built on talking about celebrities. They hate and love him in equal measures as his popularity soars with more controversy because he tells the top celebrities such Jose Chameleone, Bobi Wine and Bebe Cool, etc about their failings openly with utmost honest as is.
Kasuku, real names Isaac Daniel Katende has had a good share of controversies ranging from being being attacked by Chameleon’s wife Daniella to having a provocative incident of a fist fight with Singer Eddy Kenzo. He was also once under fire from the fans of the deceased singer Mozwey Radio who passed on in 2018, an audio circulated when Kasuku is warning Radio to stop his misconduct in public. Kasuku was reacting to Radio after he threw a laptop into the swimming pool at the vigil of the late Ivan Semwanga.
Kasuku’s misdoing is prophesizing that if Radio doesn’t change his ways, someone will break his head. How spot on! How prophetic! He was painted as a blood sucker for telling the truth about the conduct of Mozwey Radio and a section of artists asked his company the Nation media Group to sack him over this saga. Kasuku is courageous that no one can sue him successfully for defamation or libel because he speaks only the truth Everyday backed with facts.
ZAHARA TTOTO
There are several controversial stories about Zahara on both social media and real life. The self styled Field Marshal entertainer has had a number of fights and issues with people ranging from fellow workmates, people in her same career, businessmen, ex-lovers among others.
A section of people accused the TV star of slaying to screens and at lavish parties, using vulgar language on her social platforms to getting semi nude in her videos on video sharing platforms. Zahara Ttoto has had alot of controversies one of the latest being a spat with city tycoon, Lwasa who she accused of having an illicit affair with fellow TV presenter Diana Nabatanzi. The tycoon accused her of trying to tie herself on him but refused and that was the reason for her banter.
At one time, Zahara’s uncle identified as Benjamin accused her of smoking weed and wetting her bed something caused an uproar in the public domain. Her uncle added that she dumped her three children to her mother’s home without food, proper clothes among other basic essentials hence exposing the TV Host the more.
We also cant forget her love affair with Don Solomon also known as Big Papa that went sour. Don Solomon fell deep in love every time they stayed around each other, Zahara Toto was even slashed to ice on different media outlets with people calling his now Ex-boyfriend a baboon according to his physical appearance but this did not stop the Lugambo queen from loving her thing. The relationship that saw Solo gift Zahara with car having a fake personalized number plate ended in tears with Zahara bending low with baby tears asking for forgiveness from the don, to her dismay, Don Solo trashed her request down the pit.
MC KATS
Whatever you choose to call MC Kats, the fact is you cant separate his name away from the controversies he has been through over the years. From being rumored to have over 20 children, being in second position after Weasle in the men who have the biggest number of children in Ugandas showbiz industry to his on and off relationship with ex lover and singer Fille Mutoni, Kats has had a fair share of controversy.
His bad ending with Fame Lounge in 2019 saw Kats move into Pearl of Africa hotel for his Wednesday Celebrity theme nights, however just after 3 months he made a you turn and made peace with the Kololo based bar and restaurant. At their reunion, Kats made controversial statements like ‘I fear only God’, saying that his return was nothing short of God’s will. “My things are in God’s hands. I don’t know what God said to them but well, here we are,” he said in an interview. “I am back. I told you that I am a business, man. I make people money. I am a business,” Kats confirmed.
That same year, he headlined a show at Royal Regency in London, Immediately after jetting back into the country, he went public and announced he was HIV positive while at Wave Lounge. Since then, MC Kats started recording live controversial videos and a blind person would also see that he is not mentally stable, alot went on his life within this period and not to bring the bad memories back, This forced friends to intervene and he was rehabilitated back into his normal self
A few days ago, several media publications had it that MC Kats was destined to quit Next Media Services station NBS Television. The rumors noted that the controversial emcee, talent manager, and events organizer was opting to settle for his new role as an HIV/AIDS Activist with the Uganda AIDS Commission. We can authoritatively say Kats is still with the Naguru based TV station with a new segment on the Amasengejje extra show.
KAWALYA ISAAC KAYZ
The remand of Next Media Services journalist, Isaac Kawalya, ” Kayz” weeks back ignited an uproar from the public, with many welcoming the predicament, while others being sympathetic. Kayz is one of the few new generation entertainment reporters that rose to fame with the coming of TV gossip shows. His biggest claim to fame is his unique style of asking questions to entertainers during interviews, his is one that underplays the journalistic element of being neutral. Kayz will ask you a question and will want you to answer it a certain way he probably wants you to, this gained him alot of love from fans who associate with this style of interviews that satisfies and confirms public opinion and interests. We all cant forget the day Kayz asked city socialite and model whether she is a virgin on national television or the time he asked Peter Sematimba’s alleged rape rape victim to explain the process and steps the city pastor and politician took while using her.
