Tshaka Mayanja said going to school was like a punishment to him. The celebrated events promoter and artiste, who went to King’s College Budo for O-Level and Makerere College School for A-Level, said he never attended afternoon classes in S.5 and S.6.
“In HSC [A-Level], I don’t think I went for any afternoon lesson at all. We used to hide in the dormitory, have friends who are prefects, sleep, go to town to watch bands, football and friends,” said Mayanja while speaking to Crystal Newman in November 2019.
“I still hate school,” he said, adding he didn’t like “conformity”. “School was like punishment to me,” he said.
Tshaka Mayanja, who started organising concerts while in high school, said his favourite subject was Fine Art.
After A-Level, he refused to join university and instead convinced his parents to pursue a certificate in computer studies.
He said while in school he only revised in the last week to pass exams.
Born in 1972 to Ruth Nkangi and Jehoash Mayanja Nkangi, the former Buganda Kingdom prime minister and Uganda cabinet minister, Mayanja grew up in Kyambogo and went to Nakasero Primary School for one year, before joining Budo Junior School where he completed P.7.
Tshaka Mayanja, who also went by Tshaka Ham Winston Shakarama Mayanja, started playing musical instruments while in school and the first instrument he learnt to play was the piano.
Using drums, they would create beats with his friends while in high school.
He also grew up in a home loved music and his parents and relatives came with records as they returned from exile.
He, however, never saw himself becoming a musician, as he was initially interested mostly in football.
His father was loved music so much that his peers always praised him for being a good dancer.
According to Tshaka Mayanja, even his mother told him she was also into singing, acting, etc.
The crooner, who at the time of the interview was set to celebrate 30 years of promoting music, said except for one event held in 1996, he had never made money from organising events.
“I’ve never made money in a show, for 30 years,” said the founder and director of Jazz Safari.
As an events promoter, he flew into the country big names like Chaka Demus and Pliers, Buju Banton, Shaba Ranks, Hugh Masekela, Jonathan Butler and many more.
