Veteran Ugandan playwright, actor, musician, instrumentalist, and author Alex Edward Mukulu Nsubuga Kigonya has died at the age of 72, with news of his death emerging on Saturday afternoon, 15 August 2026, and confirmed by the New Vision.
Renowned among the younger generation as the “Sikulaba eKampala” judge on BBS’ Yolesa Ekitone Talent Show, and for bringing the “Muwunya Boys” to public attention, Alex Mukulu was born in 1954 in Misebe, Mityana in Ssingo County, to Paulo Kayizi Lugaizi and Victoria Ndagire.
Fresh out of school at Kololo Secondary School, Alex Mukulu, a guitarist and saxophonist who had learnt to play guitar during his S4 vacation under the tutelage of Eddy Ganja, was among the pioneers of Freddie Kanyike’s second band, River Nile Band, situated on Kimathi Avenue, in 1974, alongside Eddy Ganja, Philly Bongoley Lutaaya, Ssebulime Fred, John Kiwanuka, and Shem Makanga.
In 1977, following the collapse of the River Nile Band, Alex Mukulu immediately launched his theatrical career by producing his first play, Muzukulu wa Kabangala. The following year, in 1978, he enrolled at Makerere University to study Music, Dance, and Drama (MDD) while concurrently pursuing his passion for theatre.
Alex Mukulu went on to write and stage more than 30 plays, including acclaimed works such as 30 Years of Bananas and Wounds of Africa. His theatrical work achieved significant international reach, notably in September 1994 when he led his troupe, Impact International, on a U.S. tour to perform his political drama The Guest of Honour at prominent venues such as the Dance Place in Washington, D.C. in the United States.
His global impact was further highlighted when his production Journey to Self-Realization was performed for world leaders at the 2007 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Kampala.
After a long 17-year break from Uganda’s theatre scene, Mukulu returned in 2024 with Kulumbisi Ne Kulunkalu, an African adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The production was staged at the Uganda National Theatre in Kampala.
Mukulu leaves behind a decades-long contribution to Ugandan theatre, music, storytelling and the wider creative arts.
