(KAMPALA, UGANDA) – Moses Matovu, co-founder and lifelong leader of Afrigo Band, Uganda’s longest-running musical group, was killed in an early morning attack in Kampala on 24th September 2026. He was 77.
A forensic review of public police files, court registries, news archives and government records shows the saxophonist and vocalist left behind no verifiable net worth in the form of luxury property, sports cars or commercial real estate.
Matovu was performing until hours before his death, playing at a farewell party at the Sheraton Hotel in Kampala on the evening of 23rd September 2026. Police say he was attacked at around 5:30 am in Kibuli Market Zone B, Makindye Division, while leaving the residence of a woman named Rose. A suspect, 41 year old Vincent Nsamba, was arrested that evening in Nansana, Wakiso District.
Matovu’s financial trajectory reflects what analysts describe as a survival economy. During the 1979 liberation war, all of Afrigo Band’s equipment was looted. In media interviews, he repeatedly said widespread piracy prevented him and his bandmates from monetising their more than 20 albums and 200 songs. He stated plainly that legacy musicians of his era worked primarily “for survival” rather than accumulating vast capital.
Afrigo Band operated as a formal corporate entity, Afrigo Company Limited, with a Board of Directors. The band pioneered permanent employment contracts with fixed monthly salaries for its musicians. Revenue came from corporate gigs, weekly residencies, and physical and digital distribution, including the 1995 album “Jim,” which sold over 500,000 cassette tapes.
Yet operational costs remained punishing. In mid-September 2026, weeks before Matovu’s death, Afrigo Band closed its iconic home venue, New Club Obligatto, due to rent disputes with landlord Uganda National Teachers’ Union.
Matovu’s burial took place on 25th September 2026 at his family grounds in Kyanja, Kampala, with the Government of Uganda taking over funeral arrangements.
Read the full forensic net worth feature at The Daily Handle.
