Moses Matovu will be remembered across Uganda as the voice and saxophonist who helped make Afrigo Band a national institution.
In football, his death has revived another part of his story. Before he committed himself to music, Matovu played for several clubs, and he stayed close to the game throughout his life.
Matovu died aged 77 on Thursday, September 24, after an attack in Kibuli, Kampala. Police said they were investigating the circumstances of his death. Among those mourning him is SC Villa, where he served as a trustee.
His football career began during a difficult period in his youth. Matovu told The Independent in a 2016 interview that his schooling ended in 1966 after the abolition of Uganda’s kingdoms disrupted the bursary supporting his education.
“I had no other alternative apart from joining football as a passion,” he said. He continued to sing while playing for Nakivubo Boys, Police, Express and Lint Marketing Board.
In another interview, he also named Fiat FC among his former teams. His route into Police was especially significant. Matovu said football helped him join the Uganda Police Force, and he recalled joining Uganda Police Football Club in 1968.
At Express, Matovu remembered coach Joseph Kiwanuka Aliddeki with particular affection who he named as one of his real-life heroes, saying the coach “encouraged and made me a better footballer.”
It is a small detail, but one that shows how seriously Matovu regarded his time on the pitch.
Music eventually took priority, Matovu was performing with bands by the late 1960s and went on to help establish Afrigo in the 1970s.
The group’s longevity made his name familiar far beyond football, but choosing music did not mean leaving the game behind.
Years after his competitive playing days, Matovu said he still played with former internationals at Lugogo to stay active. “We do two touches only,” he explained, adding that the exercise helped him keep fit.
Hassan Badru Zziwa, writing in The Observer, identified Matovu as a member of Lugogo Elders Sports Club. “Make no mistake, he was a top-level footballer,” Zziwa wrote.
Matovu’s own assessment was simpler, “Football has always been my greatest passion. If I am not watching it, I am playing it,” he said in an interview later published by Uganda Radio Network.
That attachment also found a place in club administration, Matovu served as SC Villa treasurer around 2013 and 2014 and remained a trustee at the time of his death.
He supported Villa as a fan, while also following Manchester United abroad.
The saxophone made Matovu famous, football gave him teammates, coaches and a community he kept returning to long after audiences knew him primarily as an Afrigo legend. His loss will be felt in both worlds.