On June 22nd 1996, CBS Fm Radio Buganda went live as the first Luganda radio station in Uganda. At exactly 4:pm, Peter Sematimba was the first voice heard by millions across Buganda who waited eagerly with their radio sets.
Sematimba had been handpicked and tasked by Buganda King Ronald Muwenda Mutebi to open a Buganda-centric radio station and ensure its success.
At the time, there were only two other FM stations; Radio Sanyu and Capital Radio, both broadcasting in English.
“My first words on air were, ‘ki kati…ki kati…ki kati, eno ye CBS FM Radio Buganda, Radio ya Ssabasajja (hey, hey, hey, this is CBS FM Radio Buganda, His Majesty the King’s radio),” recounted Sematimba, now a renowned businessman, former politician, and media mogul.
“Whoever was on radio that day was very happy that Buganda had finally gotten its own voice.”
For the first 6 months of operation, the station had only 10 employees. These included news anchor Thomas Kagera, legendary announcements reader Salongo John, Mulindwa Muwonge, Abby Mukiibi, late Kato Lubwama, David Ocheng, Late Stuart Mutebi among others.
27 years later, together with its sister station CBS fm 89.2 Emmanduso , CBS fm is regarded as the most listened-to station in the country.
Looking back, Ssematimba is pleased with how the station has turned out. He’s also thrilled to see that some of his innovations have been maintained to date, including the station logo, the news jingo, and some of the programs like the morning show, Bwakedde Mpulira and the famous Kaliisoliiso sports segment.
Eventually in 2001, Sematimba parted ways with CBS to start his own Super FM in Rubaga, taking with him Mulindwa Muwonge. At the Bulange station, he was replaced with Abu Kawenja, who was nipped from Radio One.
The main celebrations to mark the 27th anniversary of CBS are slated for next week on July 1st.
