By Ian Ortega
It’s not about Sheilah Gashumba, it’s about the credibility of Ugandan Awards , Sheilah started participating in activities since Nursery at Little Angels Nursery School, Nakasero, Taibah International School, City Parents’ School, Mt. St Marys’ College Namagunga , Kabojja International and now Galaxy International School. In all those schools, she has won Certificated, Awards and Accolades on her own because of her hard work.
In 2007, She has the youngest Journalist accredited to cover CHOGM that was presided over by The Queen of England, by then she was working with WBS TV, doing a Kids Show on WBS TV, In 2012, She Won Most Gifted Teen in The Super Talent Awards, In 2013, She Won Best Teenz TV Presenter for Buzz Awards , Most Supporting TV Presenter For Kandanke Brand House and All Rounded Talented Personality at Kabojja International School.
Sheilah was again Nominated for the Buzz Teeniez Awards 2014 and a week ago, I posted on my Facebook wall requesting for you to vote for her, after my post, I received a number of phone calls and inboxes telling me that these awards won’t be fair then my antennas went up. A young man working for Buzz Media Group, One of the Nominees ( MC TALHA) works for Buzz and actually his among the team conducted votes in the schools.
So I went overdrive to find out who MC TALHA was: I can authentically say that he joined UBC TV last year 2013, on a show called SPOTLYT TV SHOW on Saturday at 9.30am with Hannah. Now if the private sector can start doctoring awards, what will happen to politicians? You want to tell us that you need electoral reforms in the private sector?
These are my questions imposing to the Buzz Teenz Management,1. How can your staff end up on your nomination list? (Mc Talha) The Nomination list had Sheilah Gashumba (NTV), Kleith (NTV) , MC Talha (UBC) , Sasha , Jerome.2. Sheilah Gashumba was nominated with Kleith, they both work for NTV T-Nation, why is it that Mc Talha was nominated and his TV Co-Host called Hannnah, who has worked for UBC for more than 5 years, was not?
3. Ugandans, when did you last watch UBC? Do you teens watch UBC? Uganda’s most watched TV Stations are NTV, BUKUDDE, NBS AND WBS…….
4. The Buzz Team, where Mc Talha is part of and works conducted the voting in schools and which schools are those?
You can look at doctoring awards as something casual but it has serious implications on the future of talents in Uganda because honest and hardworking Ugandans will never participate in awards that are not transparent, that are why honest people can’t join politics
In Uganda because they can’t afford seeing their results doctored in broad day light. The moment honest people distance themselves from elections, Lumpens and unqualified people take over.
YOU can doctor results in Uganda but you won’t doctor them in London, New York, Paris etc.
We are not grooming Sheilah for the Local market, we are grooming her for International market, we are grooming her to Lead not to be Led by people below her. At her age, she has been invited to different countries. That’s why I always say on Radio and TV that this country is dead, it will take us 50 years to bring it back. How can you doctor awards for teenagers and you have no shame?! Finally Sheilah has no right to win each and every award, but what we need are transparent awards and am warning you, don’t ever dare involve our children if transparency is not part of the whole process because you don’t know how much M oney and Time we have invested in our children. WE DON’T BUY AWARDS, WE WORK FOR AWARDS. Respect is not bought, It’s earned