Juliana Kanyomozi Beyond Grief.

By Arthur Mwenkanya Katabalwa.

Juliana Kanyomozi



 

Juliana Kanyomozi is going through a very public grieving of her son Keron. Today he is laid to rest in Matugga. Since the news about the death about her son started filtering through the public, there was a collective gasp. People have attempted to rush to her aid and share with her grief. Rarely do we see this level of intensity and concern. Recently we also had Olavi, the lad who died in Lake Victoria.

Why do we have such mass reaction to deaths like this? I don’t know Ms Kanyomozi personally. And I know she will probably never ever know of my existence but hard a nut as I may be, periodically described as emotionally incompetent, I do feel sad for Juliana.



Juliana and a younger Keron.

She has crafted herself into this wholesome lady that people of all ages have a connection with. With incredible beauty and poise, she has a voice to match. But you see, Ms Kanyomozi has not only relied on her good looks and voice. We all feel like we own her. We all feel like she is a sister, a friend, some (and no doubt many) have massive crushes on her. She has her failings, insecurities and doubts which are public again, but are not unreal. So in that aspect she doesn’t feel so much removed from all of us mere mortals. Yet when she opens her mouth and lets out a ballad, we are all firmly aware she is different. If one were to look at her talent, it isn’t produced. That’s her singing.

Humanity has ways of wanting to own these people. And while I am not suggesting anything [yet], we have people like Diana, Princess of Wales, Marylyn Monroe and the like who are national treasures. There are singers like Kylie Minogue who are a class apart. In Uganda, Juliana Kanyomozi is that Kylie Minogue, a class apart. People like Trevor McDonalds of the UK are trusted by the nation at times of national distress and for a long time he delivered the bad news. Here, whereas he seems timeless, Bbaale Francis still sits at the top of his game. Only people like Maurice Mugisha of NTV are creeping up on his crown.

People with a great talent or massive presence who then endeavour to remain grounded invariably get more elevated. To do that and remain true to ones roots is an achievement in itself. Keron, in his short life has been fiercely protected by his mother. Whereas she spoke lovingly of him, she still maintained his privacy. I bet many people knew he existed but hardly knew what he looked like. In his death, we, who haven’t known him in life, celebrate his living. We know that he gave his mother inspiration and the faith to face life. Like his mother, we also owned him like a son or brother.

If it hadn’t been for her music probably no one would have heard of this lady that many people want to refer to as The Princess of Tooro. And maybe Keron would have had even a more ordinary life. That she has lost her son is tragic beyond belief. We all know that that lad has been her breath, her life and inspiration. We all, with baited breath hope that Kerons’ death doesn’t impact on that voice from Tooro.