By NATHAN ATILUK
You will be forgiven for thinking he is Nigerian, because of his nickname Emeka, but he is not. Comedian and KFM presenter Emeka, real name BAREIJA COLLINS MAGYEZI, was born and raised in Uganda. He briefly sat down with Nathan Atiluk for a chat.
So, how did you become ‘Emeka The Romantic Mukiga’?
Well, Emeka is a nickname that was given to me by a Nigerian family whose daughter Ijeoma was my best friend in school. And The Romantic Mukiga was from my ex; we broke up many years ago because I was broke and she was a former Miss Tourism Queen who went with a mzungu but she said I was the only romantic Mukiga she ever met.
Tell me about your early life!
I come from a family of three, where I am the first born. My father was the late Lt Col James Magyezi. Life wasn’t bad, because I was raised by the best parents (an aunt and uncle) but losing my dad left a wound in my heart because he died when I was very young.
Sorry about that! But thank God for comedy! How was your first time on stage?
It was awesome. I was welcomed but was nervous at first. I looked up to people like Daniel Omara in Uganda and Trevor Noah and Kevin Hart.
If comedy is awesome, why then, did you leave?
Well, I guess I made my mark. And the stage was a way to my other passions – emceeing, radio, commercials, and television.
Maybe you left because of the infamous beefing in that entertainment genre!
Hahaa! I honestly don’t know why one would beef the other. Maybe because one can’t achieve what the other has. [But] clash of egos has killed a lot of talented youths who fear to come up because of that beef in the industry.
When did you realize you wanted to be on radio?
I realized I wanted to be on radio when I was at Good Times primary school. [By the way,] to my fans, thanks for the love; you always follow me wherever I go. You keep me going. Keep praying and trusting God! Also, keep supporting me!
Where did you go after Good Times?
I joined Baptist High School and Greenlight High School Zzana and later I joined St Lawrence University where I studied Mass Communication.
