‘People were in Club Silk, having fun and somebody told the deejay to stop the music. ‘Qute Kaye has died. Let’s observe a moment of silence,” the singer, real name Brian Ivan Kaye, told the Soul Foundation team at Butabika Hospital’s guest house.
The volunteers had just finished the fourth End of Year Cookout at Uganda’s only national referral mental hospital on December 5.
The event which started in 2022, happens every first Friday of December. Volunteers are led by Zumba dance instructor Geraldine Opoka, aka Gerry.
When Qute Kaye, who was famous for his love ballads, showed up about 11am, Gerry greeted him with a passionate hug that reflects their mutual commitment to matters mental health.
We all have our mental issues, with or without our awareness. But Qute Kaye took a trip to hell until his redemption, as he sings in When Jesus Found Me.
‘I was drifting the shadows of night/
Lost in a maze/ No end in sight,’ he sang to an attentive audience, every word and verse a true reflection of his battle with drug addiction that dragged his star from the zenith to nadir.
‘Every road I took, led me astray
Till his light showed me the way
I was sinking deep in a sea of despair,
Crying out loud but no one was there.
My heart was heavy, my soul was torn.
When Jesus found me, I was broken and bare. He wrapped me in love
Like a breath of fresh air
His grace lifted me, set my spirit free…’
‘But of course, when I was announced dead, I wasn’t dead, but still struggling with my mental health condition. It almost killed me,’ the artist-turned-activist said.
‘So to me it matters so much that I survived. It’s why I started Another Chance Foundation. Because I am of a conviction that God spared me so that I can help others undergoing the same despair to overcome it.’
Such is Kaye’s passion for the cause that when he could not make it last year, he spread the word to whoever, encouraging them to attend.
‘Because I believe that people who work in mental health are the real angels from God.
He said ‘a disease that messes up your head, where you make all your decisions, takes your life. It almost took my life. So, I am very passionate about it. That’s why I even decided to sing a song for you.
Qute Kaye may no longer be the celebrity of his heyday, but he still turns heads. Since his arrival, volunteers, young and old men and women took turns posing with him for photos and selfies. Basically, he upped the vibe.
Every year, Soul Foundation adds something new to the event. Unlike before, the spacious kitchen was labelled according tasks: there was a station for cabbage; coriander and green onion and one for tomatoes, and green pepper and carrots and the one for Soul Tea and snacks. This made tasks easier and the ambience neater.
The non-negotiables do not change. ‘Keep knives and any sharp objects out of the patients’ reach,’ is one of them.
But some patients are different. Like K, (name withheld), who was busy at the rice cooking centre all-day. He carried water, firewood, and took care of the fireplaces, without any signs of worry.
Outside Butabika, he said he earns a living as a scammer. I don’t remember his job description quite well.
He resides in Kireka, home to 124 inmates. ‘My father is a UPDF officer. So, getting the services here is easier than in a private facility,’ he told me.
His conversations from politics to everyday life were so sober and consistent you would wonder what business he has in Butabika. But such is the complexity of mental health. You can look fine, when you are actually not.
Managing numbers
This year, there was no slicing chapatti. ‘Today, we have more than enough. Every plate a chapatti,’ Gerry announced. And so it was. Thanks to Mandella Millers.
For the first time also, there was more chicken than beef, thanks to Ugachick; while Ranchers’ Finest offered the classic sausages while Pepsi and Harris International served enough soda.
Thanks to Mukwano Industries, there were more than enough food vessels: buckets, basins, and plates.
As usual, the volunteers’ Subarus, Toyota Harriers, Hilux ferried the food to the wards. Gerry has a list of all the 13 wards and the corresponding number of residents, which guides the serving team while apportioning the food to respective wards.
But you can hardly be perfect in this game of numbers. For instance, at the Female Convalescence Ward, we expected 146 inmates.
We took an extra four plates, but we were told they were actually 156.
Then, despite the strictness of the nurses, some patients pick a plate and return for more at the expense of others.
You must be swifter. However, the ideal is to give as much as you can. Exactly what we did. There was a batch of rice that did not match the classic standards. And Leilah, Isabella Tugume, yes, the news anchor, and others had second thoughts before serving it. But not even a scoop was spared.
And the smiles did not stop flashing. ‘God bless you so much,’ said the patients, until we vanished from their sight.
Missing regulars vs subs
Chef Emmanuel Gonahasa had been a key player, handling the finger-licking pilao and chicken since 2022. But he missed his fourth edition while seeking a parliamentary vote in Kabweri Constituency in Kibuku District.
But Gillian, a journalist-cum-pastry chef, did the needful, churning out three humongous pans of rice.
Moreso, Gonahasa sent us Chef Blender, his powerful commercial blender that has served on all four cookouts. This monster makes my blending tasks child’s play.
Fridah, another senior chef and team leader, had parallel engagements away. But Sarah Maberi, shone in the role.
Nabilla, the vibe queen, was in Nairobi on an important family matter, but even before Qute Kaye showed up, the spirits were already high.
Pamela, the Soul tea maker, also missed in action. But the substitute did a great job. To say the tea was super delicious is an understatement.
The Rev Dismas Bwesigye, where were you? Your pertinent chats with the youths,especially on matters of affection-wrapped in humour, make your absence conspicuous. Trust me, you are one regular without a substitute.
Thank you, all
Dr Juliet Nakku, Butabika’s executive director, had her right foot wrapped in bandages. But alongside a colleague, she made it a point to visit the Soul team around midday to thank them for the ‘unwavering commitment.’
Dr Byamah Mutamba, a senior consultant psychiatrist at the hospital, could not thank Soul Foundation enough.
‘That care, that human relationship you create with our patients is what matters most,’ Dr Mutamba said during the closing ceremony.
‘Gerry said it is not massive but to us it is massive.’
But he had one more request. ‘Keep visiting us anytime but also come and check your status. You never know. Today, you are this side, tomorrow the other side.
Let us defeat the stigma and increase access to mental health services.’
December 13, the volunteers returned to serve cake in what has become an annual cake fest.
Gerry calls it ‘sharing healing.’ She wants it bigger and better, every year. And she is forever grateful to the partners that make it happen.