Abby Mukiibi talks about his illustrious career and missing Kato Lubwama
For Abby Mukiibi Nkaaga, 57, the stage is not just some metaphor in his life but, rather, a calling that started in childhood.
And that dream of becoming a great actor has blossomed into an exceptional career marked by excellence across theatre, film and radio, with him recently being awarded the 2025 iKON Lifetime Achievement award.
Mukiibi’s pedigree in the world of film has a local and international flair, featuring in movie roles such as The Last King of Scotland (2006) as Masanga, Sometimes in April (2005) as Colonel Bagosora, and The Silent Army (2008) as Michel Obeke. He also featured in The Mercy of the Jungle (2018), Imperial Blue (2019), and Kafa Coh (2020).
From 2021, he starred in the popular Ugandan TV series, Sanyu as the patriarch Mr Kirunda. Mukiibi recalls he realized that his dream had become a reality when his late father Erias Simwogerere visited him at home and said he was glad he had achieved his childhood dream of becoming a celebrated actor, and also built his dream home – a two-story house he shares with his wife Stella and children.
“This is the big difference with everybody. I am doing what I have always wanted to do. Living a life that I wanted to live. I have always wanted to be an actor. I wanted to be a screen star; that’s what got me to living my dream.”
Mukiibi said in an interview with The Observer at his office at CBS FM, where he has worked since its inception in 1996 and rose through the ranks to programs manager. Mukiibi is also the general manager of the relatively new Delta TV, cementing his nobility in broadcast media as well, an industry he entered at the prompting of Peter Ssematimba as Uganda’s airwaves were liberalized in the 1990s.
CHILDHOOD AND EARLY EDUCATION
Mukiibi’s dream of becoming a movie star started way back in Walukuba, Jinja, where cinemas used to be a big thing due to the Asian influence on Jinja.
“We grew up watching the Bud Spencers, the Terence Hills, the Wang Yus, every chance we got. So naturally, [one] grew up wanting to be Bud Spencer, wanting to be Terence Hill, or Bruce Lee,” Mukiibi said.
He also used to admire the film Captain Scarlet and dreamed of seeing himself as a Captain Scarlet, and in the forests of Masese, he would play-act as the captain, mimicking how he held his gun, and it is his love for the character that led people in Walukuba to nickname him Captain Scarlet.
Mukiibi told The Observer his uncle Omugave Ndugwa (RIP), who owned Black Pearls Limited with Kiwanuka Sembali took him up to act in his first theatre role, starring as Tondo at just five years.
“And ever since I stepped on stage then, I have never stopped; not even when I was in schools like Victoria Nile School in Jinja, Kako Primary School, Makerere College School, Caltec Academy, Makerere University and Makerere Business Institute. I was always in the drama club, music club, and dance club.”
When he joined Makerere University, he studied Music, Dance and Drama and did not care about the public opinion about the course. Because the arts were not known to be the best-paying or most prestigious profession back then, the MDD course at Makerere was mocked and scorned by other students.
But Mukiibi enjoyed what he was doing – be it acting under the mango tree, or learning choreography and more. During his days at the university, Fr Damian Grimes would laugh at Mukiibi’s funny dances that he would come up with during dance class.
He fondly remembers how Fr Grimes and Prof Rose Mbowa (now both deceased) always allowed students the right to agree or disagree with what was taught, as long as one justified one’s stand.
At university, Mukiibi spent time acting with the Black Pearls at Riverside theatre, where he met Kato Lubwama (RIP), Mariam Ndagire and Ashraf Ssemwogerere, among others. After graduating, Mukiibi and Kato Lubwama decided to form their own theatre and drama companies, and in 1993 he and friends formed Afri Talent, while Kato Lubwama started the Diamonds Ensemble.
The good friends agreed to work together and that is how Afri-Diamond came into existence.
LIFE ON STAGE
Starting out in theatre was not the easiest path Mukiibi had ever taken; remember, they had left Black Pearls and did not have a place to perform their plays. But soon after, Afri- Diamond were allowed to schedule their plays at Riverside theater and Pride theatre – home to Bakayimbira Dramactors, who were also a big theatre deal then.
Often, Afri Talent would be on stage at Riverside the same weekend Diamond Ensemble was at Pride.
“Back then, between the years 1994 and 95, there were no boda bodas; so, we used to run from Pride to Riverside theatre to act our different parts in each other’s plays. This confused people so much that they thought we were in two places at once,” Mukiibi remembered, laughing.
It only made sense that the money collected during those early shows was used to buy and secure Bat Valley theater, which was known at the time as Theatre Excelsior, from the Bat Valley primary school management.
“We approached the school management and convinced them to let us have it, on condition that we pay a set amount. We didn’t have the money; so, we went out, did those shows, collected what we could, and paid for it. But the space was bare. We had to start from scratch; find money to remodel, look for chairs, and create a workable space. It was hectic.”
Around that time, Diamonds Ensemble had a breakthrough with their play Akafubutuko, which brought in good money, but we still needed more shows to finish the theatre remodeling. Every drama group has that one play; for Diamonds Ensemble it was Akafubutuko, for Bakayimbira, years earlier, the breakthrough had come with Agaali Amakula, and for Afri Talent it was Ekiragiro – Order.
Ekiragiro reflected the life of soldiers and their families during the liberation war and was directed by the Owek. Nuwa Wamala Nyanzi and the late Major General Kasirye Gwanga who helped the actors understand life of a soldier.
“We performed for soldiers real stories they knew, felt and lived. After watching our play, then Army Commander Gen Mugisha Muntu was so moved he booked the National theatre for two weeks and later gave us a six-month contract to act the play in different army barracks,” Mukiibi said.
The money collected from the play was enough to remodel Bat Valley theatre and pay any pending balances to the school.
“We were able to pull off our second blockbuster play, Ensitaano, which was noticed by Gordon Wavamunno, who put it on WBS TV, and the rest is history.”
JOURNEY TO THE BIG SCREEN
Theatre ended up being the foundation of Mukiibi’s wider acting career and he is a film star due to stage plays, vital training he has used to shape his professionalism while on set.
After Ensitaano, Mukiibi credits two people who helped launch his career in film: Charles Mulekwa and Michael Wawuyo, who helped him get the role of Mukajanga (chief executioner) in the movie depicting the Uganda Martyrs called Fires of Hope (1996), and they also mentored and trained him.
“Irish director Phil Mullally, who was in the movie, told me, ‘I think you can do movies; somebody just needs to discover you. And I know one day, someone will’,” Mukiibi said.
His role as Mukajanga opened doors to other roles. He continued to act in several movies directed by Mariam Ndagire, with his big break of acting in big-budget movies starting with Sometimes in April where he acted as Col Théoneste Bagosora.
The film featured Idris Elba. A year later, The Last King of Scotland was filmed, where he acted as Masanga, Idi Amin’s chief of security. That Hollywood blockbuster featured Forest Whitaker, Kerry Washington and James McAvoy, among others.
Mukiibi also starred in Silent Army, Imperial Blue, Mercy of the Jungle and Sanyu, among others.
AWARD-WINNING CAREER
Mukiibi has won several awards in his colourful career, but the most recent lifetime achievement award from iKON sits fondly in his memory. He was not planning to attend the awards gala, although he knew he was nominated for Best Actor in a TV series for Sanyu where he acts as Kirunda – he notes that Sanyu has brought him lots of fame compared even to the big budget movies.
“I was planning to go for another event. Nathan Magoola and Mariam Ndagire pushed me to go. I remember I bought the shirt that I wore to the iKON awards on my way to Serena. When they announced me as the best actor for Mr Kirunda, I sat back down with Magoola and Julius Lugaya. As I was planning to leave the event, they announced the lifetime achievement award and it was me, which made me realize why Mariam Ndagire insisted I stay.”
Winning that award brought back memories of his longtime friend and business partner Kato Lubwama, and he dedicated the award to him – the person who pushed and inspired him.
“We trained at YMCA, performed at Riverside and Pride, and later launched [Kaliisoliiso] show on CBS that still thrives 26 years later. Winning that award without Kato there was painful. That’s why I dedicated it to him; the man behind everything people see in me.”
The incredibly talented Kato Lubwama died at 53 in 2023, after suffering a heart attack. Although acting has enabled him to meet royalty, world leaders and helped him provide for his family, it is to his wife Stella that Mukiibi gives the biggest credit.
“People often forget what our spouses go through, especially in our kind of profession. My wife is a very private person, yet she endures so much. I’m rarely home; I leave at 5am and return at 10 or 10:30pm. I don’t spend Christmas or Eid at home [he will be performing], yet she is always there, holding everything together. She’s one of those silent heroes.”
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