Renowned Ugandan journalist and broadcaster Shaka Ssali will be cremated on Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Alexandria, Virginia, in keeping with his final wishes.
The late Ssali, popularly known as the Kabale Kid, is understood to have opted for cremation as an alternative to burial, choosing not to have his body flown back to his birthplace in Southwestern Uganda.
Instead, his ashes will be returned home and sprinkled in Kabale, as well as in several parts of the African continent that he passionately promoted through his journalism.
A public viewing and celebration of his life will be held from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM at Jefferson Funeral Chapel, 5755 Castlewellan Drive, where family, friends, and well-wishers will gather to honour a man whose voice became a staple of pan-African discourse.
Shaka Ssali died on March 25, 2025, leaving behind a towering legacy as host and creator of Voice of America’s “Straight Talk Africa,” a programme he steered for two decades with sharp analysis and respectful engagement.
Born in Kabale, Ssali fled into exile following the rise of Idi Amin in 1971 and pursued higher education in the United States. He went on to earn a PhD in cross-cultural communication and joined Voice of America in 1986.
In 2000, he launched “Straight Talk Africa,” a weekly show that gave both African leaders and ordinary citizens a platform to discuss governance, democracy, and development issues. He hosted it until his retirement in 2021.
The Nile Post, in its tribute, described Ssali as “a towering figure in African journalism who brought dignity to televised dialogue and never lost his Ugandan humility.”
Over the years, he interviewed presidents, opposition figures, civil society leaders and activists from across the continent, earning widespread respect for his impartiality and depth.
His decision to be cremated is rare but not unprecedented for Ugandans, especially those in the diaspora.
While burial remains the dominant tradition in Uganda, cremation is slowly gaining ground as an alternative—particularly among urban families grappling with rising funeral costs, scarcity of land, and shifts in spiritual outlook.
Cremation is legal in Uganda and offered at a handful of facilities including the Kampala Capital City Authority crematorium at Bukasa Cemetery.
Still, it remains controversial in many cultural and religious circles. Ugandan customs typically tie a person’s identity to ancestral land and clan, making burial in a family graveyard a deeply symbolic act.
Nonetheless, some Christian denominations have expressed conditional acceptance of cremation, provided it reflects the deceased’s wishes and is treated with reverence.
For Ssali, cremation appears to have been a personal and philosophical decision. Rather than lie beneath one plot of land, his ash will symbolically return to the hills of Kabale and be scattered across parts of Africa, a continent he championed through the media.
His family has said this gesture honours his belief in African unity and reflects a final act of belonging to the people and places that shaped his career.
As mourners prepare to gather in Alexandria, tributes continue to pour in from across Africa and the diaspora. Many have remembered Ssali as a voice of clarity during turbulent times, and a broadcaster who made Africans feel seen, heard, and respected.
Though his body will not return to Uganda, his words, ideals, and spirit will remain embedded in the lives of those who tuned in to listen, learn, and speak up.