Samson Kasumba Talks Fashion, Fame and Fair Pay!

Samson Kasumba’s deep baritone emanates from the other side of the phone, a confirmation that it’s really him I’ve been interacting with. I’d spent a couple of days DMing, emailing and calling but to no avail.

“Monday is good, let’s do 9am,” he says. I have just asked him when he would be available for the photo shoot that accompanies this story. It’s mid May, the country is in lock down, and because of that, none of us will physically be available for the photo shoot as we observe the social distancing guidelines spelt out by the Ministry of Health. He has to style himself and pose for the photographer, who will have no assistant. Surprisingly for me, he has no problem with this at all.

“Let him come through,” he quips, leaving me unsure if he would actually do it.

On Monday, Gerald, the photographer, rides his bicycle and arrives at Media Plaza, the home of NBS TV a few minutes to 9am. Still not convinced that the shoot would happen, I ask him to let me follow it via video chat, which he agrees to do. But, before I settle down to direct it from my bed at home, Kasumba has gone through with it, followed the mood board we shared with him to the tee, has given the photographer no challenge whatsoever, and he’s off to another meeting. That says a lot about the kind of person he is!

Samson Kasumba is without a doubt, one of Uganda’s most popular news anchors. His ability to create a connection with his audience is unmatched. And, being one of the broadcasters at the front line of the covid19 pandemic coverage, his ‘cred’ has only been elevated. The 46-year-old theologian holds a Master’s degree in Theology [New testament] from the University of Wales, so that can as well help paint a picture of the kind man he is.

Him and I later have a lengthy chat via whatsapp on the new normal that’s in our midst, his thoughts on Ugandan journalism and a lot more.

Nice tie! Who makes these outfit choices before you leave for work? You or your wife?

Well, I actually choose my outfits, because I wake up at about 4am to do my exercises and by that time, my Mrs. is still sleeping. I don’t like to wake her up and she also doesn’t like to be woken up. So, I sort of, then choose which suit I’m going to wear and which tie I’m going to wear with it. The week where I’m anchoring, I normally carry literally all my ties to work, there’s a chest in which they are! Because I have to match my tie with my co-anchor’s. So, I normally carry an entire set of ties and pocket square. They are very many, I don’t want to list the number, I might make some people misunderstand me.

How would you describe your fashion sense?  

I don’t know how to describe my fashion sense. But, maybe I’d say I’ll try. I know that clothes make an impression and how you dress largely determines how people understand you. Because I do the news and other functions, I have different things I wear for different events. For instance when I’m doing weddings I like to do bow-ties. I’ve loved to wear bow-ties to do the news, but I was stopped from doing that. But, I’m quite rebellious in a sense. Maybe I’d say I’m British a bit, maybe a little French. I don’t think I understand how Americans dress, I wouldn’t want to be American.

Is that why you wear fedoras a lot? 

I started to wear fedoras when I lost my hair. You’ve got to understand that one of the best things in my life was my hair. If there’s anything I really loved on my body, it was my hair. So when I lost it, I was down for quite a bunch. I’m not so sure I’ve had to recover from it. I sometimes still wonder if there’s a treatment for it that doesn’t have side-effects. I’ve also been thinking of exploring options of wearing a very good wig. I’m just saying!

In terms of compensating for losing my hair, that’s how I started wearing Fedoras. I was looking for something I’d wear on my head so that I don’t get sunburnt. Because I get badly sunburnt . I was looking for what I’d use to cover my head that’s also trendy and fashionable. Something I can wear with my suits. Now, because I love to sing, and I love Frank Sinatra and vintage style, that’s how I came to fedoras. I think I have about 15 to 20 fedora hats.

You recently turned 46, what are some of the serious life lessons you had to reflect on as you celebrated your birthday?

I don’t even know how I got to 46, but in terms of life lessons I think I definitely would put it down to patience. I’ve been very lucky with God. I’m a survivor. And if you want to take anything out of me being 46, I think I’d tell you that “Don’t count yourself out anytime”. I mean, things happen, and if you want something bad enough, definitely you’ll get it. Networking is also important; be in the right networks. I think the biggest lesson I do have at the moment is, if you’re in the wrong network, it doesn’t matter how hard you work, you’ll never get anywhere.

How has the covid19 pandemic and lock down affected you?  

This pandemic has definitely affected me in the sense that my cash cow is normally public speaking; wedding emceeing, moderating dialogues and things related to public functions that bring masses of people together. Because Covid 19 stopped those events from going on, I have lost a lot of money. And I had a huge project that I’m certainly very passionate about that just went to a stand still, so I’ve been greatly affected.

What are some of the lessons you have picked from this experience?

In terms of lessons, you have to be patient. I’m very very lucky that before this, I had bought a bike. A huge Honda Steed 400. I really love motorbikes – big things on two wheels I love. Also, be positive. I’ve been inspiring many people to be positive. There’s nothing you can get out of being negative.

Had you seen anything close to this in your life time?

No body has seen anything like Covid19. To say that anyone has seen anything like it or close to it is just to tell lies. I’m not a liar.

The pandemic has strongly impacted the media industry. In a good way, heightening the popularity of online media & TV outlets and in a bad way, crippling print media. What, in your opinion, is the future of Ugandan media?

As far as television is concerned, NBS positioned itself very very well. We are lucky that we have a very revolutionary CEO in Kin Kariisa. So, I’m not sure we’ve been affected that much. But, even before covid19. everybody knew that print media is on its deathbed. I think Covid19 has just done the little bit of switching off the artificial breathing machine, and just sending it bed. So, I doubt that print media will recover. What the pandemic has done for television and broadcasters like myself and a few others is to give many people who wouldn’t have time for TV an opportunity to sit home and watch it, and realize that Ugandan television is good, it has good content and it does have some really good strong brands. And so, in a sense, TV brands that had positioned themselves very well are going to benefit from covid19.

During the commemoration of World Press Freedom day last month, there was a huge debate on and off social media about poor pay of journalists and other media practitioners. What’s your take on this?

I think Ugandan media’s biggest problem is part of a wider problem which is Uganda’s education. Uganda’s education has been falling for a very long time. Because Ugandan media collects from Ugandan education, now you can see where the problem is. Also, there’s a very very lazy approach to work by the young people today, which is a very different generation from ours. We were raised to be critical thinkers, we know how to survive through different things, also our work ethic is very different from the current generation’s. That’s the problem. Young people these days don’t want to push themselves, they want to be pushed. That’s the biggest problem. So, as the older journalists fade out, there’s going to be a very huge problem. That’s the generation that wants to get money before they even sit down to work.

And the 50k saga

About the #50k thing, I don’t have too much to say about it because I don’t get paid that much. I think that sometimes you have to be very good in negotiation. You raise the stakes, and get paid what you are worth or close to it. It would be unfair of me to start to talk about this when I earn a lot more than 50k. That said, I think there are journalists who are being taken advantage of, but again, make an argument for being paid more, in many ways you’ll get paid more.

As we slowly get back to business as usual after this long lock down, many Ugandans are going back jobless. You’ve once shared that you spent some good time jobless. How was that experience for you?

Being jobless is very difficult, it’s a very trying time. As a husband and father at the time, it was a very trying time. I almost got to the point of depression, I’m glad that I’ve got a brother who saved me from it. But then again, you’ve got to keep hopeful. I don’t remember that there has been a time that I’ve watched more television than I did during that time. I used to watch a lot of political shows. What I am on TV now is down to that period. I think that God knew that I’d end up on TV, so He gave me some sort of retreat in order to understand broadcasting very well. During that time I studied TV and presentation on TV and much more. I learned quite bunch. So, when you’re jobless, prepare yourself for your next job.

You quit your Industrial Fine Art degree to do theology. How has theology shaped your thinking and life altogether? 

Yes, theology drastically changed how I think. When you study Biblical theology, that’s Greek and Hebrew, these languages especially Greek, studying and teaching them opened me to the world of philosophy and critical thinking. The Greek see themselves as the fathers of thought. I mean people like Aristotle and all. It widened my thinking. I think very differently from many people. I’m very unusual in how I think. In that sense, theology changed me so much. The sort of questions I normally ask are down to my thinking which theology contributed so much in changing.

For a theologian with such colourful credentials, how did you end up in journalism?

I think journalism is something I’ve always wanted to do. I wanted to get on TV when I was 19, but I didn’t get on until I was 39. That’s 20 years of waiting. I tried every television station in this country, and no success. From Light House TV, UTV, UBC, I tried WBS several times. People sent me to see Elvis Ssekyanzi, I saw him, he never wanted to look at me again. I went to UTV dressed very smartly, they told me to see a lady who looked at me in the corridors and never saw me again. I went to NTV, did a screen test, somebody lost it. I was so bad that my screen test got lost somewhere within the building at NTV. I came to NBS, spoke to someone, he told me to write a proposal, but because I was mature, I could tell that he was politely saying that “We don’t need you.” Now I’m at NBS. Just don’t give up on your dream.  

Let’s talk about your style of news anchoring, you deliver with so much passion and vigour. There’s never a dull moment when Samson Kasumba is on the TV screen. Where do you draw this passion?

I wanted to be a sports news anchor, I don’t know whether people know it, because my biggest inspiration on Ugandan television was Andrew Patrick Luwandaga. How I became a journalist comes down to Joachim Buwembo, who decided to give me a try in news anchoring at Urban TV just over the weekend. I don’t even know how he thought about it. We tried it a little bit. When I came to NBS, Kin (the CEO of NBS TV) just decided that I’m going to be a news anchor. He saw a news anchor in me. Right from the word go, he said, ‘’You’ll anchor news!” And that’s how it is.

But when I was still trying it out, Joachim Buwembo told me that he didn’t want me to anchor news. He wanted me to tell the news. Actually he said it in Luganda that “Njagala ogende onyumye amawulire!” That just told me something different.

But then again we had had conversations with Angelo Izama, who understands media very well, about how trends were changing. We have a very young population. If you want them to be consuming news, you’ve go to change the way it’s delivered. And I know that. I’m also generally very ‘anti-tradition’, I like to break traditions for fun. So, when I came to the news, the catalogue of the things I’ve mentioned determined how I’m going to do it. But, again, as a person, if I’m not passionate about something I don’t do it. If I’m not going to give something 110% there’s no point wasting time on it. It’s just who I am.

About family, you recently took to social media to lash out at people who are ‘father-shaming’ you for not having male children. Why do people frown upon parents with only female children?

I don’t understand the idiocy behind the idea that girls are lesser children than boys. Someone will say that I’m saying this because I don’t have boys, but it’s my choice not to have boys. I made a choice that at some point I’m going to end the process of me having children altogether, it’s a scientific process. So, I went through that, and it was a choice. If I wanted boys, I could have gone on having children until I had boys. I just determined that I wanted girls, that’s enough, I’m done having kids, let’s go on to do other things.

What does the Bible say or not say about this?

Biblical theology is very clear on this; God does not see the difference between men and women. Anyone who reads biblical theology will tell you that.

What was it like growing up?

My parents were no nonsense. I remember the last time I was beaten, I was sitting my O level exams. I came home late, my father picked the cane, by the time he was done I needed a pillow to sit on to finish the rest of my exams. And it’s not as if my mother, if she picked the cane would have done any less than what my dad had done. So, they weren’t ones to take prisoners. They were very serious conservative Christians in that sense. And very disciplinarians too, if you may! They gave us the values of life. My mother taught me everything there was to cook. My father taught me everything there was to know about public speaking. He was one of the best emcees I know. That’s how I ended being an emcee.  

Have you always been athletic?

I’ve always been an athlete! I was part of the university athletics team when I was in Nkumba. I was part of the football team. Even when I was at the university in the UK I played for the university football team that used to play in the local leagues. I converted into a goal keeper to get on the team. Then there were too many goal keepers, I moved to athletics, long distance races to be exact. I still made the university team. I never lose.

When I was in the UK, I saw a woman run a marathon and finish it. She was 62. That’s how I started running long distances. I’ve run three marathons – I’m talking 42 kilometers and several 21ks. I just like to tell my body that we’re going to be around for a long time. You see, at my age, if you don’t use some parts of the body, they lock down. They lock down and never wake up again. I want to keep everything active, if you understand what I mean.

Many young people look up to you. You’re so passionate about what you do, you make it look so breezy and effortless.

I don’t know why young people look up to me. I’ve met lots of students doing Mass Communication and Journalism who tell me that they look up to me. I’ve also met many others who say that I inspired them to study journalism. But I didn’t study Mass Communication. Why are you doing stuff I didn’t do yet you say I inspired you to do them.

And I have no regrets doing these things, because I know I bring something different because I didn’t go to journalism school. I’m glad I didn’t. I’m not locked in a sense. And I say this with meekness. I read a book in which somebody says that part of getting spoilt happens in school, because it teaches you so many things you can’t do, and very few you can do. So, if you didn’t study certain things, then there’s a lot you get to know.

I think young people need to understand the importance of longevity. I think I’ll be anchoring news till my ‘70s, or until somebody stops me from doing so. The passion is there. The will is there. I don’t see why not. I’ve seen Sir. Trevor McDonalds anchor news very late. Larry King is still working. Why should I be going anywhere? Like, why?

You are a singer, a theologian, a newscaster, a pastor, a teacher, a father and a husband. What else is in your bag of tricks?

I don’t know! I still have a few things down to think about. Thankfully I’m still enjoying my anchoring. There are times I toy with the idea of going to study law just for the sake of it, not to practice. I don’t think I’ve ever given up on studying medicine. Maybe I will, you never know. But, then again, I might just go back to lecturing. I’ve lectured, and I think I enjoy lecturing. I might just go back to lecturing as well. Because as you get old, you need something that fires you, and being around young people is a good thing. So, I might go back to the classroom. But, news is still with me for a very long time!

Credits

Photographed by Gerald Ochieng of Ochieng Photography

Styling by Samson Kasumba

hassan@satisfashionug.com