Singer Mesach Ssemakula quits Golden Production as band's financial woes continue 

One of the directors and leading singers, Mesach Ssemakula has announced that he is quitting the band that he co-founded eight years ago.

Metamorphosing from Eagles Production which had been successful for a number of years, Golden Band was formed in 2014 and registered as a company after some of its pioneering members left and formed ‘The New Eagles’ over financial differences.

Consequently, the newly formed Golden Productions Uganda Limited  had Ssemakula(19% shares), Ronald Mayinja(19%), Musa Kavuma(10%), Fred Sserugga(10%), Catherine Kusasira(8%), Stecia Mayanja(8%), Doreen Mutiibwa(8%) and Maureen Nantume with 8% as shareholders in the company.

Also, the company appointed Ssemakula, Mayinja, Sserugga and Kavuma as directors.

However, this week, through his lawyers of Lukwago and Company Advocates, Ssemakula has informed his fellow directors and shareholders of his move to quit the band.

“I am experiencing health related complications which cannot make me perfectly execute my obligations and duties to the company which involve busy assignments like routine practicing, routine travelling, staging and participating in music performances in different parts of the country,”Ssemakula said.

He said that for the good of the band, it is high time he quit as both director and member.

Financial struggles

Since its formation in 2014, Golden Band has struggled to return to its good old days of the Eagles Production that rocked Kampala and the country at large with several performances.

After metamorphosing into Golden Production, the band consequently recruited several singers into its ranks including among others Dr. Hilderman, real names Hillary Kiyaga of the Mazongoto fame.

However, Hilderman lasted only two years and quit the band.

In 2019, one of the directors, Ronald Mayinja also announced he was quitting the band over unknown reasons.

“This is to inform the directors of Golden Band that I Ronald Mayinja wish to exit the band due to reasons worth not mentioning here. To my fans, it’s my honour to thank you for your continued support and love that has made my music career a success. I do inform you that I am still in Music Industry and offering you the best given your lovely support,”Mayinja said in his 2019 resignation.

However, after one week, Mayinja returned to the band.

Whereas it was not mentioned in the latest resignation by Ssemakula, but his letter somehow pointed to the financial struggles that the band is facing.

For example, Ssemakula said that the band’s music equipment which are the only assets it has had been confiscated by the landlord over shs12 million rent arrears.

The singer said he had personally coughed the shs12 million and the equipment released to him by the landlord.

“While the company owes me a sum of shs12 million, that I singlehandedly paid for as rent arrears for the release of musical instruments, I hereby forfeit the said debt and by this instrument I am willing to surrender the musical instruments to the continuing directors and shareholders of Golden Productions Uganda Limited who are at liberty to pick and collect them on a day and date they may deem fit,”Ssemakula said in the resignation letter.

However, many say that some of the band’s leading singers and directors including Ronald Mayinja and Catherine Kusasira becoming involved in politics by publicly announcing support for the ruling NRM party and President Museveni could have worsened the band’s problems with many fans not receiving the news well.

There was a noticeable drop in attendance at Golden Productions music shows as many fans chose to boycott their performances.

Also, other schools of thought say that many of the band’s supporters have since grown and moved on, yet the band doesn’t have many new hits to which they can dance.

This means even if they hold concerts, they don’t get as many revelers as was the case before.

There is also a school of thought that the rebrand from Eagles to Golden Band was not successful because the group did not regain its former vitality.

The split saw some of the senior band members including Geoffrey Lutaaya and wife Irene Namatovu form their own Da Nu Eagles which also took a portion of the former band's supporters.

However, the two year Covid lockdown that saw concerts and any public gatherings banned for over two years exacerbated matters for Golden Band as was the case with many other players in the music industry who are now trying to recover  after the full reopening of the economy.