If you are a lover of gospel music, you have most probably heard about “Kajambiya” Perhaps, you have seen him perform any of his songs. He is popularly known for hits like “Bullet”, “Kyatulidde”, “Ululate” and lately “Ani Aluleeta”
Born 29 years ago to the late Samuel Muwanguzi and Rose Lydia Muwanguzi, he attended Molly and Paul Busega Primary school for his nursery and Primary and then went to St. Henry’s College Kitovu (SHACK) for his O’Level, and later attended Mengo Senior School for his A’level. He then joined Makerere University where he pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Software Engineering.
“Kajambiya” says that he drew inspiration for his stage name from Hebrews 4:12 which says; “The word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart”. It is from that scripture that he decided to translate sword as Kajambiya to make it sound a bit comical and catchy. His real name is Jovan Ssebaggala.
He is a humble and reserved individual who loves people. He is also an unashamed lover of God and has often been seen doing ministry with his friends. He loves to serve God. When asked why he loves God so much, he simply smiled and said “It is because He loved me first”
He has been a lover of music from the time he was a child. His face carries a nostalgic look while he shares on how they had a huge collection of cassette tapes at home. As a child, he loved to listen and dance to the music from this collection, with his favorites being ‘The Specials’ “Free Nelson Mandela” and Sammy Kasule’s “Maama Afumbye Ekitobeero.” He would sometimes find himself singing while drumming the sideboard or tables. He, however, discovered his ability to compose in senior one while at SHACK in 2003. That was a turning point in his life
He looks up to artists like Pompi and Travis Green. On what drives him; he says that challenges push him to get better each day. He believes that thinking outside the box is an aspect every man must have. His music is a pure revelation and is a result of a deep personal bible study and daily meditation on the word of God. The one thing that has made him tick is that he does not compromise. If he sets out to do something, he will do it as best as he can.
Asked on how he manages to do music yet he has a professional job, he said he believes that every responsible person must be able to balance out the time between his career, family and passion; this can only be done by proper planning. In his own words; “I have 8 hours of work and 6 hours of sleep in a day. There’s quite a lot I can do in the remaining 10 hours and music is one of them” This year, he intends to release more music, do a couple of videos and to release his debut album titled Chronicles of a Reborn Spirit. We can only wait for this exciting project to take form. He encourages youth to do their best, be their best and leave the rest to God.
On what inspires him; at first, it was the desire to participate in singing competitions at school but he later realized that music was the one avenue through which he would best express himself; he started to write songs depending on how he felt about different matters of life. He only ventured into doing music professionally as a response to the call of God on his life.
Nothing beats a resilient, principled and God fearing man. Kajambiya is all this and so much more. And we are sure that he is going far. He is unstoppable. Like he says, “Ani Aluleeta”