Reports coming from Fire Base Studio in Kamwokya indicate that Ziggy Wine aka Michael Alinda had fallen out with Bobi Wine (Hon Kyagulanyi Ssentamu), although the latter continues to claim that the deceased was his close pal. There is only a single picture of Ziggy Wine and Bobi Wine, taken at a time when the latter hadn’t joined politics and hadn’t cut off his dreadlocks then. Challenged to avail any current photo of the two, Firebase Crew Manager, John Ssentamu, also Bobi Wine’s elder brother, could not respond.
According to a family source, Ziggy Wine had confessed that he had changed from his ganja (marijuana) ways, a lifestyle synonymous with the young people that work within the environs of Fire Base Studio that belongs to Bobi Wine. Changing his ways meant he had quit hanging out at the studio because after all, he was among the struggling artistes that had not gained from the Fire Base brand.
BARBIE BARS ZIGGY FROM ACCESSING FIREBASE
Ziggy had apparently been barred from associating with Fire Base Crew. He then forged life in Nakulabye, another Kampala surburb where he set up a small phone repair shop.
Sources at Fire Base studio say Bobi Wine’s wife, Barbie Kyagulanyi, had opted to help Bobi Wine clean his image that was tainted with marijuana and alcohol consumption which the latter himself often acknowledged. This was after he won the MP seat of Kyadondo East. Barbie would achieve this by firing all ‘idle’ youths who often hang at or around Fire Base Studio.
“Barbie issued a directive to Fire Base to chase away all the “idlers” because they were denting her husband’s image, and Ziggy Wine was among them,” intimated a source at Fire Base studio.
The source further said that whereas Ziggy Wine wasn’t an active singer at Fire Base, he often spent his idle time at the studio consuming drugs.
‘NO TIME FOR ‘SMALL MUSICIANS’
When contacted, Ssentamu said he had no time for ‘small musicians’ like Ziggy Wine because his concentration is on the big artiste who is Bobi Wine.
“My job at Fire Base is Bobi Wine; those other young musicians usually deal with the DJs.”
Indeed, he struggled to recall any of Ziggy’s songs.
“He has his songs; some are in Runyankore but I have forgotten them. But they are there,” said Ssentamu said on phone.
Asked whether the deceased was signed to Fire Base, Ssentamu openly said, “no.”
“Fire Base gives any musician who thinks they have talent chance; but we don’t officially sign them and anyone is free to go just like how Butcha Man and Bebe Cool who were at one time our members but left,” he said.
Asked if Ziggy Wine was really close to Bobi Wine as the latter claims, Ssentamu responded, “Didn’t you see pictures when they were together?”
Prior to this factual information of who Ziggy actually was, and that Bobi Wine through his wife Barbie had in fact fired and barred him from associating with Firebase, People Power supporters had started to concoct stories that Ziggy Wine was influential to Bobi Wine.
They claimed he was a blogger and an IT genius yet no published work of his could be traced anywhere. That Ziggy ran Bobi Wine’s social media pages was another crafty scheme synonymous with People Power small-minded strategists to gain public and political sympathy.
Many a time, Bobi Wine himself, since Ziggy’s predicament came to light, claims he was “very close” to Ziggy Wine, a ploy analysts say he is using to gain some relevancy for the People Power Movement.
