Michael Kayemba

[Ten Thutty @thenotoryousone]

Foster Sylvers
Ronald LaPread
Dexter Wansel
Peabo Bryson

All gone in the past week. Rough start for Black Music Month.

[Francis Gaitho @FGaitho237]

URTNA: The Forgotten Pan-African Broadcasting Powerhouse That Once Connected the Continent, Killed By French Colonial Cannibalism

Before Trace TV, before algorithmic playlists, before the French-owned media cartels took over, there was URTNA; the Union of National Radio and Television Organizations of Africa (Union des Radiodiffusions et Télévisions Nationales d’Afrique).

Founded in 1962, just two years after many African nations gained independence, URTNA was one of the earliest and most ambitious pan-African institutions. It operated as an autonomous specialized agency under the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and brought together broadcasting organizations from across the continent - eventually covering stations from nearly 48 countries.

Its Real Historical Impact

URTNA’s greatest achievement was the programme exchange system. African television and radio stations regularly swapped content, meaning a viewer in Nairobi could watch Congolese soukous, Senegalese mbalax, Algerian raï, South African kwaito, Ethiopian jazz, or Zambian Zamrock without needing foreign intermediaries.

This was revolutionary in the pre-internet, pre-YouTube era. URTNA’s music programs in the 1980s and 1990s were legendary. They created a genuine continental soundscape where Africans discovered and celebrated each other’s cultures directly. The Programme Exchange Centre (PEC) in Nairobi played a central role in distributing this rich, diverse content.

In short, URTNA was an attempt to:

• Reduce cultural and media dependence on Europe and America
• Promote authentic intra-African cultural exchange
• Build a shared African media identity beyond colonial borders

The Contrast Today

Compare that vision with what replaced it. French-owned Trace TV and the current cartelized music ecosystem have narrowed African music to a handful of heavily promoted stars (Diamond Platnumz, Burna Boy, Fally Ipupa, Wizkid, Asake, etc.). Real diversity has been buried under heavy rotation, algorithm manipulation, and commercial gatekeeping.

The vibrant, borderless musical exchange that URTNA facilitated has been largely dismantled in favor of profit-driven monopolies.

Independent voices and regional sounds that don’t fit the approved commercial template are systematically blacked out from major platforms, radio stations, and even big events.

URTNA represented a brief, hopeful period when Africans tried to control their own cultural narrative. Its eventual decline and renaming to the African Union of Broadcasting (AUB) in 2006 coincided with the rise of commercial globalization in African media.

France has destroyed the very thing that truly livens up Africans - music, art, and culture - and turned it into another extraction racket. Trace TV wiped out authenticity and crafted an era of cartels where the only musicians we now know from outside our borders are the same cherry-picked few played on heavy rotation to manufacture popularity and shore up sales.

Any artist who refuses to sign up to this extortion scheme is systematically blacked out from affiliated radio stations, concert promoters, and even major gigs

The legacy remains powerful: it proved that a truly pan-African cultural space is possible when the continent’s own institutions lead the way instead of French conglomerates, Western algorithms, or local gatekeepers chasing foreign validation.

That history is worth remembering - especially now, as we watch the same forces that killed authentic exchange celebrate their dominance at summits in Nairobi. URTNA showed what was possible. Its suppression shows exactly what was taken from us.

[Tabz @NinyeTabz]

Banange Gwanga Mujje!

No donation is too small to #SaveAbdu

[Hillbilly Catholic @RosaryQuotes123]

"Do not be afraid to stand up for what you believe in even if you stand alone."
St. Joan of Arc

[Michael Kayemba @kayembam]

@SwPrayer Amen

[Babyface @babyface]

Finally telling the story of my life…. And I’m honored to do it with the best.

[Radio Maria Uganda - Kampala @radiomariaug]

Heavenly Father,
As the new month begins
Bless the work of our hands and let our efforts bring success.
Open doors of opportunity and fill our days with peace and joy.
Grant us wisdom, strength, and faith to achieve our goals.
We pray for blessings, breakthroughs, & victories

[Royal Suites Kampala @RoyalSuitesKla]

The countdown is on ⏳
#LegendsNightOut — 31st Oct @ Royal Suites Hotel 🔥
90’s Classics | HipHop | Soul | RnB
From 4PM till late | Free Entry 💃
Be there or hear about it!
#KampalaEvents #RoyalSuitesHotel

@Dj_Pita @deejaybonni @Amstasounds @kayembam

[Pita K @Dj_Pita]

This coming Friday you are covered @RoyalSuitesKla with @AmstaSounds @deejaybonni @kayembam ......#Legends Night Out....Best of Soul,Old Skool and Oldies

[Andrew Kyamagero @kyamageroandrew]

Men of this circle, hear the drum.

One of our own is on the wall, not for himself, but for his little girl. Pott’s disease struck her spine. Pneumonia took her breath. Now she lies inthe ICU, lungs held up by machines… and a father held up by hope.

He’s knocked on every door. The last one is ours.

This is not charity.
This is brotherhood in motion.

🟤 Your post could reach a miracle.
🟤 Your coin could buy her time.
🟤 Your silence could cost her breath.

Let us not scroll past suffering.
Let us be counted.

💳 To Stand With Baby Imani:
📞 Father (MTN): [phone]
📞 Mother (Airtel): [phone]
📞 M-Pesa (Samwel): [phone]

🏦 Centenary Bank
Acc No.: 4922005473
Name: Kimutai Emmanuel Charles
Branch: MUK

🙋🏾‍♂️ Share to awaken.
She breathed… because we stood.

[Pita K @Dj_Pita]

27th June @RoyalSuitesKla it's going down...a legends legendary affair...

[Pita K @Dj_Pita]

Friday 27th June the legends get together @RoyalSuitesKla for some classic action

[Ugandan Catholics Online @ugcatholics]

Heavenly Father*, as I step out today, I pray for courage to overcome every challenge. No matter what comes my way, I receive grace to overcome all evil traps,I know how tough the world is. I rely on your grace to be courageous in the face of every battle that comes my way. Give me the strength to overcome every situation Because I trust in you Lord, let me be bold in the face of every circumstance Grant me the enabling power to overcome all of my fears may I succeed in all of my ways. In Jesus ‘ powerful Name ,*Amen*🙏 (_Sign of the Cross)

[Rotary Club of Upper Kololo @RCUpperKololo]

Leaders who Lunch (and learn) build bonds and share ideas ✨

Join us every Friday at Roza Dymz Restaurant, 1:00pm to connect with fellow leaders, exchange insights, and explore ways to make a positive impact in our community.

Share, Learn, Grow & Serve.

[Michael Kayemba @kayembam]

Classic.

[Peabo Bryson @PeaboBryson2]

Celebrating 32 years of A Whole New World 🧞✨

Thankyou for the continued love for the record 🫶🏾

[Papa Joe | Joe Nuwamanya @JoeNuwamanya]

I don't think you know peace until we have had a conversation on peacekeeping | peacemaking | peacebuilding | negative peace | positive peace

It's so wide heck even Joel Osteen has a sermon on protecting your peace (personal and intimate) and John Galtung has a theory on positive peace and conflict prevention

Let's find out more together with as we have a conversation on sustainable peace and OUR WHY why for the @apeaceconcert and the @MakerereRotary

@Rotary @RotaryMuyenga @rotaryd9213 @KampalaMetro @

[Michael Kayemba @kayembam]

@lorrainemking One of Prelude's finest.

[Melissa Sigodo @melissasigodo]

For Black History Month, I am remembering Norman Beaton, the UK’s 1st bona fide Black TV star most known for his role as Desmond Ambrose in the Desmond's. He also starred in The Fosters -Britain’s 1st Black situation comedy series but was also a teacher, composer & musician

[Kiande K. Jakada @Kiandesworld72]

Artist: Phyllis Hyman
Album: You Know How To Love Me
Released: October 23, 1979
Label: Arista

October 23, 2024 celebrates the 45th Anniversary of the 4th album by vivacious Vocalist, Phyllis Hyman. Happy Anniversary!❤
#PhyllisHyman
#YouKnowHowToLoveMe
#KiandesHouseOfMusic

[Fact @Fact]

Never ignore a person who loves and cares for you, because one day you may realize that you’ve lost the moon while counting the stars.