Chameleone’s botched concert cost Fenon, organisers Shs 1.5 billion

Music fans were shocked and disappointed when Jose Chameleone’s hugely anticipated Gwanga Mujje concert initially scheduled to take place at Lugogo cricket Oval on February 10, was postponed due to the heavy rains that afternoon that blew away the stage and left the cricket grounds too soggy for a show.

And no one felt this pain as much as Mariam Mutakubwa, the proprietor of Biggie Events, which was behind this concert and had already pumped in huge sums of money and paid all the service providers.

The statement released by the show organizers regarding the incident read, “We regret to inform you that due to the effects of severe rain and wind occurring in the afternoon hours of February 10, 2023, the infrastructure for the Gwanga Mujje concert was damaged. Fortunately, there were no fatalities. To guarantee the security of the concertgoers, workers and artistes, the concert has been postponed. Hold onto your ticket as it will still be valid at a later date to be confirmed. We kindly request you to be patient with us. We are going to do everything in our means to ensure your experience will be worthwhile.”

In an interview with The Observer, Mutakubwa said this has been the biggest shock of her life. She said there were four people on stage when it collapsed, who fainted because of the shock but did not sustain serious injuries.

“I saw the stage falling in and I couldn’t believe my eyes. This was my first and biggest concert with the biggest artiste and I wasn’t prepared for the kind of questions Ugandans were going to ask me.”

She said she had already invested over Shs 500m and the postponement meant they had to go back to zero to organize and make sure that the show happens again. She revealed that they have had to pay again for almost everything from security, KCCA authorization, making new tickets, VIP section setup, to putting out new adverts. It is only the venue, where National Council of Sports, which manages Lugogo Cricket Oval, asked them to pay half the initial amount and, therefore, they had paid Shs 7.5m to have the show held there that Friday.

“It is putting out new adverts which has really stressed us because media outlets want their money right away. Fortunately, all our sponsors are still on board and still supporting us,” she said.

The biggest undoing of the concert was the collapsing of the gigantic stage which had been set up by Fenon Events. The screens, lights and other equipment which were already up got broken, which also left Steve Jean (Fenon Events manager) counting losses.

Mutakubwa said she had paid Fenon Events Shs 160m for that stage and full production of the show, including lighting and decorating the whole venue but even though she is still working with Fenon, she will not fully pay for his services again.

“It is mostly going to be his own cost this time round, because what happened was also not our fault. Nevertheless, we are going to help him with some small amount of money for organization, because he also lost a lot of money in destroyed equipment; he lost almost Shs 1 billion,” Mutakubwa said.

Event organizers have been rumoured to hire rainmakers to stop the rain. Mutakubwa, however, said she believes it is God who brings rain and no human has control over it and since everyone knows that she is a born-again Christian, no one told her that she needs to have such a person in place.

This was going to be the first concert by Mutakubwa, who has been organizing small events and shows ever since she ventured into the show promotion business in 2019, which is dominated by men. She admits it is not an easy business and needs a lot of boldness and extra effort to stand out among the many men.

“As a woman, I believe we can also do what men can do. I want the world to change and know that women can sit at the same table with men and do something very productive.”

She said fellow promoters have been there for her from the day the incident happened, even though she had never met many of them.

“When the incident happened, many of them like Kavuma Musa of KT Events, Bajjo, Balunywa, Yasin Kaweesa and others immediately came through at Lugogo Cricket Oval. It was my first time seeing them but we sat and forged a way forward for my concert,” she said.

When asked why she chose to work with Jose Chameleone among all the artistes that we have, Mutakubwa revealed that she actually first wanted to work with David Lutalo on his concert in September last year, because she is a big fan and they are friends but unfortunately, the concert had already been bought by another promoter.

“So, I sat down with my team and realized that Chameleone had taken four years without organizing a concert. We approached him and talked about it and here we are. In the next two or three years, I would also revealed that she actually first wanted to work with David Lutalo on his concert in September last year, because she is a big fan and they are friends but unfortunately, the concert had already been bought by another promoter.

“So, I sat down with my team and realized that Chameleone had taken four years without organizing a concert. We approached him and talked about it and here we are. In the next two or three years, I would also like to work with Lutalo, Spice Diana, Sheebah, Winnie Nwagi, Mesach Semakula and Bebe Cool.”

Chamealoene has often been described by people in the music business as a complicated and difficult artiste to work with. However, when asked on how working with the controversial artiste has been like, Mutakubwa, who first laughed at the question, said Chameleone is such an understanding person and has matured a lot.

“It has been an amazing journey working with him. First of all, he became my big brother and we understood each other and contrary to popular belief, he is very intelligent, and not complicated as people think he is. If you go to him in a humble way, he will also treat you in a respectful way but if you go to him in a disrespectful way, he will then show you that he is “Chameleon.”

She said the singer had been a bit depressed, because such an incident had never happened to him in the 25 years he has been in the music industry, but he remains strong. She said he has resumed rehearsals and is happy again and come this Friday, February 24, he will put up an amazing show. Most of the equipment needed was already on site.

Mutakubwa said they are being very cautious and cannot trust anyone and, therefore, some restrictions have been put in place; very few people will be allowed to access the venue before the show – the only hint that they are not ruling out witchcraft and black magic…

“The stage is going to be totally different from the one we had initially and the whole setup is going to be different,” Mutakubwa told The Observer.

With losses of over Shs 500 million already made, Mutakubwa still believes she can make a profit out of this concert, depending on how much Ugandans will come out to support.

“If they come in large numbers this Friday, we surely won’t still be counting losses,” an optimistic Mutakubwa said.

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