Old Gaetano gone

By Crystal Okusa

Best referred to as a ladies man, Kenyan-based Ugandan celebrity Gaetano Kaggwa made his a through his raunchy stunts with Tanzanian Abby at the Big Brother Africa House back in 2003. But this is a new Gaetano.

At 37, call him lucky for arguably doing better than most of the winners of the Big Brother Competition; but Gaetano makes no apologies for his successes. He attributes them to his strong personality at the house – a trait that landed him his interview while still in campus as a presenter at the Studio 53.

Settling down into one of the Capital FM studio’s after his Breakfast Show which he co-hosts with Rae, Gaetano hopes we are not here to talk about his private life, as he starts off with his ingress into entertainment.

"After the Big Brother show, I was called in by Studio 53 to audition for a position as a presenter. I was asked to bring demo footage to show what I had done. I didn’t have a clue about this kind of thing, and therefore I didn’t have any demo to offer, I asked them to use the footage from Big Brother, which they did and I got the position," he says leaning back on his chair with a look of satisfaction on his face.

His Political Science and International Studies degree from University of Wisconsin in the United States that was to propel him into legal career was quickly forgotten as he embraced the entertainment industry globe trotting to produce and present travel features for Studio 53 show.

"I produce and direct inserts and links of the show, hosting it from different countries around Africa at times even outside the continent,"he says.

With his new job at Capital FM, Gaetano has limited his travels to the weekends so as not to interfere with his radio show since he relocated to Kenya four months ago.

His main reason for moving to Kenya was to be with his wife Enid Keishemeza also a journalist in Nairobi, who had been working in Kenya when they met through his brother. A night out led to a second date and a relationship followed soon after. The rest as they say is history.

At the time he got the offer to join Capital FM while working at Vision Voice radio in Uganda, he was not looking for a job, but saw it as an opportunity of being with his wife whom he married in July last year in two weddings in church and at the beach. They married after having a long distance relationship for almost four years.

Wedding

"I consider it luck that Capital FM was looking for someone to replace Fareed Khimani and they called me. I saw it as a good opportunity to finally settle in one country with my wife and still work, so my boss at Vision Voice radio understood my reasons and I left on good terms," he says.

"Unlike critics expect, I am not here to fill anyone’s shoes, the past presenters were good at what they did but if I try to imitate them then I will fall flat on my face. I have to create my own persona; listeners learn to appreciate you with time. Though radio in Kenya is faster paced than in Uganda," expresses Gaetano.

He is quick to dismiss people who allude that he does not connect with his co-host Rae while on air.

"Rae is very organised and I am the complete opposite but in a more of structured way. So I believe we are a very good mix, and not everyone will love you but as long as we impress listeners everyday, that is what matters," he adds.

It has been eight months since Gaetano celebrated his wedding in church ceremony. This was followed by a drink at the club with his friends as they awaited for the afternoon for surreptitiously traditional ‘Kwanjula’ wedding on a ranch near Lake Victoria attended only by close family members and friends.

"I didn’t want the hullabaloo of a wedding. It was important to have the wedding and only invite people close to us; we had two weddings– at the church and the other by the lakeside. My bank account felt depleted after the wedding, it makes me wonder what would have happened if everyone attended," he says with a cheeky smile on his face.

Private affair

Whenever you initiate Gaetano’s wife Enid into the conversation, he is quick to change the subject.

Enid is daughter to Uganda’s former Minister for Finance Matthew Rukikaire.

"My wife is a daughter of a very loving family. I don’t want to talk about it. Her parents are private people," he is quick to end the subject.

Abby and Gaetano’s romance were the highlights of the Big Brother house but he now refers to her as if a faraway thought.

"I would like to think that Abby and I brought spark into the show through our actions but it didn’t last long. We dated for a year after the Big Brother, but the long distance relationship did not work so we broke it off and we are now both happily married. We talk once in a while but we are not that close," he maintains. "I keep though in contact with the other housemates through Facebook and e-mail once in a while," he adds.

"I cannot explain why the long distance relationship did not work with Abby but it worked with Enid, maybe we were meant to be, and we were more committed to it. Travelling back and forth almost every weekend until settling here", he says. "I travel to Uganda every once in a while to see my family and I miss the food," he quips.

Although he did not win the competition, Gaetano is doing well for himself, after Studio 53 opened doors for radio presenting at Capital radio in Uganda before moving to Vision Voice also in Uganda then to Kenya’s Capital FM.

"I am glad I did not win because I would have relaxed having $100, 000 (Sh7.5million) in my account. But now I am hungry to compete in the world," he says.

Goodwill Ambassador

That is also confirmed by being appointed as the United Nations Special AIDS Representative for the last two years, giving motivational talks to youths around the continent and may just be the next Goodwill Ambassador.

Gaetano went to school in Kenya all through his junior years at the Greensteads International School, before moving to Lesotho in South Africa for his high school and then to the US for his university education.

After graduating in 2007, he stayed for another two years to work before rejoining his father in Lesotho. He finally relocated back to Uganda to study law. It’s at this time that he starred at Big Brother in his third year.

He also explains why he missed to host the third edition of Tusker Project Fame.

"I am good at what I do and that is why I have done Tusker Project Fame twice. I missed the third time as I was committed elsewhere already and I recommended Mitch Egwang to do it." Competition between Mitch Egwang and I is good since it keeps both of us on our toes, but when my hands are full, I recommend him," he adds.

Owner of Zone 7 bar and restaurant in Uganda, Gaetano would like to someday direct and produce his own TV shows.

We conclude the interview as he quickly prepares to leave for home to go pack his bags to fly out the same evening for his travel show with Studio 53.