In what appeared as a surprise to many revelers attending ’10 years of Eddy Kenzo’ concert, at Serena Hotel on Friday, the two long time musical and now political rivals, Bebe Cool and Bobi Wine, shook hands and hugged, presumably for the first time in a couple of years.
In the presence of Buganda Kingdom’s Premier, Charles Peter Mayiga, who was also the Chief Guest, Bobi Wine who was sitting next to his wife, stood and gave a warm embrace accompanied by a smile to Bebe Cool who had just arrived, before sharing a table. The two also exchanged a handshake.
But that wasn’t the peak of the surprises the evening had to offer. Bebe Cool chose to wear red attire, akin to the one Bobi Wine has won several times. The red colour has in the last one year become closely associated with Uganda’s political opposition.
The ‘Love you Everyday’ and self-proclaimed Big Size also wore a black cap written on ‘Silent Majority’, a slogan used to imply that the ruling government enjoys majority support in Uganda.
Bebe Cool and Bobi have had a long history of working together before parting ways along the way, with each side yearning to command supremacy in the music industry.
Their rivalry grew even bigger when Wine chose to publicly join elective politics and became a member of parliament affiliated to the opposition, yet Cool is a sworn supporter of President Yoweri Museveni and the NRM.
Bebe Cool told a reporter minutes later, that he did it for the sake of the Chief Guest and for the good of the show.
Their gesture will be a point of discussion for many in the next couple of days given the created impression that their differences are irreconcilable.
At Friday’s concert, the two singers shared a table with the Katikkiro of Buganda kingdom, Barbie (Bobi Wine’s wife), songstress Iryn Namubiru and another guest. It is likely that having the Bobi and Bebe share a table was the idea of the Katikkiro under whose name the table had been reserved.