Weekend of carousal

The weekend was full of action, from Nyayo Stadium to the city of seven hills, writes STEVENS MUENDO

In the last couple of years, rugby tournaments have become popular in the country as they combine fun, poise and colour. Never mind that a good number of those in attendance don’t know the basic rules of the games or bother to keep the scores except when the national team plays.

After winning the Plate Final, the Auckland Vikings got down to the Haka — a traditional spectacle war dance. Indeed, it was a war dance that stirred the over 20,000 fans into sheer ecstasy.

RUDGE LOVERS: Revellers enjoy themselves during performances at the Tusker Village, at Nyayo Stadium, after the conclusion of the Tusker Safari Sevens Tourney. [Photo: Standard]

This was the moment that sobered Kenyan rugby fans after the humiliating suffering of the home team that had shockingly lost at the semi-final stage of the tournament.

For the best part of the weekend, it wasn’t more of the tries and conversions that kept the boisterous fans in party mood but the sideshows. There was the traditional liquor draining galore at the Safari Sevens Village, enchanting showdown by the dancing beauties as well as fashion colour, which dictate the mood every season of the great international bonanza.

On Saturday night after the oval ball was put to rest, hundreds of rugby enthusiasts barrowed into the Sevens Village where DJ Hassan was holding the jam down with sizzling mixes. It was more like a high school reunion party where all basic rules were broken.

Bad weather notwithstanding, the masses seemed to throw caution to the wind as they drained beer cans in their thousands. And as the night wore on, matters of sensual pleasure seemed to overwhelm the restless lot, as would be evidenced from the littered grounds the following morning. That, too, was a spectacle.

Midnight switch

Besides, by midnight, a sizable lot had relocated to Carnivore Grounds for the annual Homeboyz fronted Sepetuka jam. Silver Star was on the decks charging the crowd before DJ Hassan took the party to an exhilarating octave in a 40 minutes irresistible dance routine mix, which literally got everyone dancing.

When the new Jamaica dancehall star, Konshens, took to the stage, he too did not disappoint. Living up to his promise, the star treated the crowd to 90 minutes of energetic performance. His showstopper act was his popular hit Simple Song that the crowd sang along to.

On the same night, across the border in the city of seven hills, Kigeugeu singer, Jaguar was rewriting his showbiz profile. It was just the other day when the singer scooped the coveted East Africa Music and Kisima Awards after years of showbiz turmoil.

So when he got nominated in the Best Kenyan Artiste category in the Pearl of Africa Music (Pam) Awards as well as Channel O Awards, everyone sensed more accolades were in the offing for the Ogopa Deejays faithful. And the Pam awards D-day came with good news for Jaguar as he floored P Unit and Madtraxx to win the regional award.

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"I am grateful to my fans across East Africa who made it possible for me to win the award. This year has truly been a great year for me," Jaguar would later told Pulse.

Amani won the Best Female Artiste, Kenya category. During the glamorous ceremony held at the new Uma hall in Lugogo, Kampala, Bebe Cool was named Pam Awards’ Artiste of the Year, beating Radio and Weasel, Jose Chameleone and Bobi Wine. This was the first time Cool claimed the heavily coveted top prize despite being nominated for it every year since the awards started in 2003.

Not so cool

Garnering three awards at the gala night, Bebe Cool also had the highest score of accolades from the event that bounced back with pomp from last year’s hibernation that was caused by disagreements among the organisers. He managed to snuggle two other awards: Best Reggae Artiste and Album of the Year for the album Kasepiki.

Unfortunately, Cool did not grace his elated fans with his presence to receive the awards, as he is still in the US for treatment for bullet injuries.

Following close on Bebe Cool’s heels was Jose Chameleone with two awards for Best Afro-beat Artiste and Best Afro-beat Single. Rapper Navio also got two awards: Best Hip-hop Artiste and Best Video for the hit Raw.

Iryn Namubiru won Best Female Artiste category, beating heavy weights Cindy, Grace Nakimera and Juliana Kanyomozi. Radio and Weasel won Best Male Artiste while the man of the cloth, Pastor Wilson Bugembe, won Best Gospel Artiste.

Additional information from the Internet.