Philly Lutaaya

Ugandan music star, the late Philly Lutaaya, captivated fans with his music that blended reggae and African pop. His decision won him plaudits the world over, but the single father - who died aged 38 - unintentionally exposed his young children to stigma and discrimination. One evening we were in the living room, and he had just bought new CDs. "Are you going to die? But there is nothing wrong with you," we said. I remember my big sister cried; my little brother didn't register anything. And me, being the tough one, I said: "You're going to die? What does dying even mean?" I could not digest the news. When he tried to talk to his family about going public, his brother strongly opposed it because of how horribly HIV patients were being treated. People were literally being locked up and secluded from their families. Most were being taken to their villages to die. Eventually, my uncle got on board, and dad came out with his diagnosis at a press conference in Uganda's capital, Kampala. At first, people did not believe him because he did not look sick at all. He had just released a successful album, Born in Africa. They thought Western public relations companies were behind the announcement to sell more music. When he recovered a bit, he left us in Sweden and returned to Uganda and launched the Alone and Frightened album. This addressed the HIV stigma head on. Soon after the release of the album, doctors asked him to return to Sweden for further treatment, which he did. We were all flown there with him. He was too weak to walk and when he got out of the plane he was put on a stretcher and taken straight to the hospital where he would spend the last two weeks of his life. These were the longest two weeks I think that I have ever experienced. Wherever we went, people knew that we were the children of the late Philly Lutaaya. We did feel the stigma even before he died. In Sweden, most of his friends had stopped inviting us to their homes. They would not want us to play with their children. I distanced myself from the name just to heal. I was angry with him during that time because he had exposed us to this. I was not even thinking about the illness he had. I could now really understand his journey and what he had been fighting for. I decided to do something and started a charity, Philly Lutaaya Cares. There is more awareness and less stigma now, but I continue my father's legacy by empowering young people with skills, financial literacy and reproductive health education. This should help as poverty is one of drivers of HIV infections. Philly Lutaaya's legacy doesn't just relate to the incredible work he did around HIV and Aids; his Christmas songs still mark the start of Christmas. The interview was produced and edited by Eric Mugaju. You can listen to it here .