It has been 19 years since the music world bid farewell to a true icon, Elly Shamar Wamala, on August 22, 2004. Fondly known as the “Father of Uganda’s Music Recording Industry,” Wamala’s contributions to Ugandan music are deeply imprinted into the archives of history. As we reflect on his life and legacy, we celebrate a man who not only shaped the music scene, but also, left an indelible mark on the hearts of countless fans.

Born “Elishama Lukwata Wamala” on December 13^th 1935, in Bulucheke, Mbale, Elly Wamala’s journey to becoming a musical legend began at an early age. His innate musical talent was nurtured by none other than Livingstone Semyano, the headmaster of Mackay Primary School. Under Semyano’s guidance, Wamala’s passion for music flourished, setting the stage for his extraordinary career.

His educational path led him to Mengo Secondary School and later Makerere College, where he delved into linguistics, poetry, and text. Music, however, remained his true calling. Proficient in playing the guitar, Wamala became a regular performer at New Life Bar in Mengo, and further honed his skills at the Nairobi Conservatoire.

Wamala’s influence stretched beyond Uganda’s borders. In Kenya, he led the Sportsman Chachacha Band, sponsored by Cigarette Makers Sportsman. He ventured to England, returning with a Banjo Mandolin Guitar diploma. In the 1950s, he penned his inaugural song, Nabutono, a Kadongokamu masterpiece that made history as the first local folktale to be recorded on vinyl.

In the early 1960s, Wamala explored the world of television production in Wales. He later became an integral part of Uganda’s broadcasting landscape, working at UTV and Radio Uganda. His Saturday Night with Elly Wamala musical show became a beloved fixture. Alongside the late rally driver Jimmy Dean, Wamala laid the foundation for today’s entertainment radio.

Beyond his radio career, Wamala’s musical prowess was a cornerstone of his identity. He conducted lecture sessions on television production at the Institute of Public Administration and led his own band, enchanting audiences at weddings and corporate events. He graced local stages, from Nakivubo Stadium to Masaka Recreation, leaving an unforgettable trail of melodies.

Even in his personal life, Wamala’s dedication to music was unwavering. He passed down his passion to his children, including Fiona Mukasa Wamala, James Muwanga Wamala, and his heir, Spurgeon Wamala. His legacy extended to a remarkable discography of over 297 records, featuring timeless albums like “Akana Ka Kawalya,” “Ani Yali Amanyi,” and “Tontunulila May.”

To ensure that Wamala’s memory endures, his family orchestrated projects like the Elly Wamala All Star Tribute concert in 2014, held at the prestigious Serena Hotel. The Elly Wamala All Stars Album stands as a testament to his enduring influence, featuring tracks from renowned artists like Jose Chameleon, Bobi Wine, and Irene Namubiru.

As Uganda approaches two decades since Wamala’s passing, there remains work to be done to honor his legacy fully. The establishment of a functional Copyrights law and the realization of the dream of an Elly Wamala Museum continue to be aspirations close to his family’s heart.

On that fateful day in 2004, Elly Wamala, aptly nicknamed “evergreen,” succumbed to throat cancer. His music, however, lives on, resonating through generations and reminding us that true legends are never forgotten. As we remember the life of this musical luminary, let us carry forward his passion, his melodies, and his enduring legacy. Keep sleeping peacefully El-Shamar.

This decision comes in the wake of an intense feud initiated by the Federation of Uganda Event Organizers and Promoters Association (FUEOPA), spearheaded by Abbey Musinguzi, also known as Abitex. The dispute between Alien Skin and Abitex ignited following a disagreement over the artist’s compensation for the now-postponed ‘Nkwakyo’ festival.

The festival, which had promised to be a remarkable event, took a sour turn as negotiations over the artist’s fee unraveled. Once amicable associates, Alien Skin and Abitex’s relationship soured after the singer uncovered the potentially lucrative nature of his performances.

Sources close to the matter reveal that Alien Skin came to realize that he had been significantly undervalued in past dealings with Abitex. The singer, who initially accepted a modest UGX15 million for his services, discovered that his market worth was far greater. This realization prompted Alien Skin to renegotiate the terms of his appearance at the ‘Nkwakyo’ festival, a move that clashed with Abitex’s stance.

Refusing to back down, Alien Skin made a bold demand of UGX100 million for his performance, adamant that he would not budge from this figure. A leaked phone call audio, now widely known as ‘Twagala Sente’ (we want money), captured the escalating tension between the two parties. The dispute prompted Alien Skin to cancel his involvement with the festival and cut ties with Abitex.

In response, Abitex and his associates within FUEOPA launched a smear campaign aimed at tarnishing Alien Skin’s reputation and brand. Veteran promoter Balaam Barugahara, however, has taken a different approach. Balaam and his team have opted to educate Alien Skin on the intricacies of the show business world, acknowledging the singer’s newfound understanding of his value.

This decision by NAFEP to stand by Alien Skin has opened a new chapter in the ongoing controversy. While FUEOPA’s campaign continues to wage on, the backing of a significant player like NAFEP speak volumes about the complex dynamics within Uganda’s entertainment industry.

Alien Skin, who has become known for his self-made success, has faced controversies in the past, including a fallout with a South African-based promoter over payment issues. This incident led to the singer’s decision to decline an opportunity in South Africa. As the situation unfolds, the entertainment industry watches with bated breath to see how the clash between NAFEP and FUEOPA will impact the trajectory of both Alien Skin’s career and the wider Ugandan entertainment scene.

The two and their soldiers are vowing to do everything in their power to bring the mismanagement at the prized National theatre to the attention of each and every office of authority in Uganda. “We are not going to rest until the ‘mis-managers’ masquerading as leaders are uprooted at the National Theatre. We can’t simply stomach what is going on at Dewinton Road currently. What shall we tell our children? That we slumbered on as National Theatre was decaying? We say no”, funnyman Luswata vowed without necessarily acting this time round.

The journey to freedom: 

The artistes have kicked off the struggle by petitioning the Parliamentary Committee on Gender, Labor and Social development. The artistes have great faith in parliament to do good. This, after the chairperson of Parliamentary Committee on Gender, Labor and Social Development, Hon. Flavia Kabahenda blocked the suspected looting of a whopping UGX30Bn, which the Uganda National Cultural Center had disguised as funds to establish regional studios for artists! 

The team argue that the theatre arts sector in Uganda has a potential to employ over one hundred thousand people, but the same remains the least exploited. They strongly claim that Uganda National Cultural Centre abandoned its cardinal role of Providing and establishing Theatres and Cultural Centers in the country, encouraging and developing cultural and artistic activities, providing a home to societies groups and, organizations in art, culture and entertainment.

And instead, they have maintained grabbing and grumbling to assume roles of Uganda National Theatre and film Network. It is evident that the current management’s interest and expertise only lies in `managing` the National Theater building, i.e., collecting rent and parking fees, but NOT to promote the arts and This has led into failure to mold into a productive industry, the Arts in Uganda. 

The Petition in full:

Theatre Practitioners` Petition and Workplan for the year 2021- 2025

Artists today are joining other Groups in Uganda who have come out to demand for “independence and self-governance” from other government departments and individuals. The Arts have been employed as a tool, to help the young people understand what they are, in relation to the communities where they stay, the responsibilities they carry still within and out of their community settings and the respect to humanity.

Through different forms of Arts, young people have been educated and as such start looking at life consciously and to appreciate what life has made of them. They are prepared to take over as responsible leaders of tomorrow. Top most though, Arts have been used to ease tension and to bring smiles to people in communities.

Performing Arts here in Africa for example, are just a part of a person. They take a sizable percentage of our lives as we employ them to achieve various life objectives. In traditional Africa, we have used arts in bringing up our young, guiding the grownups and putting the elderly in their rightful positions. We have mainly employed performing arts as we execute our traditional ceremonial events, which events are responsible in marking our identities and membership of communities in larger Africa.

Even in modern Africa, we have employed the same performing arts in religious praises, in education, in informing, in sensitization, mobilization and entertainment. The Arts in general, are a powerful tool for effective communication, education, mobilization, sensitization and behavior change on top of creating employment.

Young people must be helped to understand and embrace The Arts as one of the viable employment sources in Uganda. It should all start with the government making priority and provisions for investment in the Arts sector as it has done with other sectors, such as industrial development, agriculture, health etc. In the sixties, the colonial administration left in place an infrastructure for the development of the Arts in Uganda. There were recreational community centers in almost all townships throughout the country. 

These provided venues for Arts` skill development and exhibition. But the successive governments have played a blind eye and reduced the Arts to nothing despite constant reminders from stakeholders. After the expulsion of the Europeans and Asians by Idi Amin in 1970s, [the development] saw a decade of rapid decline in the cinema industry. The other arts like drama staggered but survived simply because there were community recreational centers where drama shows could be staged. 

Drama enjoyed monopoly and relatively grew, since there was no competition from cinema industry. In the 1980s, the Performing Arts industry boomed with drama reaching its peak as many groups and clubs had shot up. In Kampala alone, there were about 300 registered groups. This created a big demand for performance venues. Privately owned theatres sprung up as a backup to The National Theatre and to accommodate this rising demand. 

Regretfully however, the return of the Asians after 1986 saw many of these performance venues in form of theatres, where the dramatists used to stage their plays, closed! To mention but a few; Biwologoma on Ben Kiwanuka Street was repossessed by the Indian community back into a temple. Bahomex Theatreon William Street was demolished to give way for a car parking yard. Pride Theatre on Namirembe road was sold off and turned into a Pentecostal church.

Nile Theatre at Nakivubo was turned into a school for adult education

Farmers’ Hall at Kalerwe was demolished. Riverside Theatre behind Kisekka Market was also sold off and turned into a nursery school. Hollywood Theatre at Katwe is no longer functional. Bristol hall at Nateete is now a discotheque. Happyland Theatre at Kibuye is now Imbecap discotheque/club. Awuleria Hall at Namasuba is now a kindergarten and, Namulondo Theatre in Bweyogerere, was turned into residential apartments.

Other halls in Kireka, Luzira, Kawempe and all other places were affected by the rush to selling of property on prime lands. The only theatres in Kampala now are Bat Valley on Bombo Road, Theatre Labonita on Clive Road near Christ the King Church and The National Theatre. Even those in other towns in Uganda have followed suit and have been turned into places of worship, particularly the Christian born-again faiths. The lack of performance venues has seen a sharp decline in the Performing Arts from the early 1990s to date.

The Background:

In the year 2008, Ugandan artists through Link Afrika Cultural Exchange Programme, a not-for profit advocacy for promotion of Arts Agency, spearheaded the revitalizing of arts at the Uganda National Theatre. This came up at the helm of sharp decline in the promotion of arts on part of the Uganda National Cultural Centre – UNCC, which has continuously played a killing role and takeover of The Uganda National Theatre. Different avenues have been used to remind the Board of Trustees and Management of the roles of UNCC and those of Uganda National Theatre, in vain.

Whereas Uganda National Cultural Centre is mandated to oversee all cultural institutions in Uganda, including the Uganda National Theatre; [The latter] is mandated with promoting the Arts in Uganda. The Board of Trustees and Management of UNCC on the other hand have for a long period of time, concentrated on what looks like a deliberate move to derail the Uganda National Theatre from the path of developing the Arts in Uganda to comfortably turning the premises into a wedding meetings’ centre, land brokers and property letting agency.

As you may be aware, the artistes petitioned the relevant authorities including the President of Uganda, The Hon. Prime Minister, The Speaker of Parliament and The Inspector General of Government to intervene. Following the petition, the office of the IGG unearthed a lot of decay in the management of the UNCC and corruption related charges were preferred against the Director Mr. Joseph Walugembe in the anti-corruption court and he was interdicted.

We requested the Board of Trustees to bring in new management team and indeed, various positions were advertised. After the interdiction of Joseph Walugembe and his team, we celebrated receiving a new management team led by Mr. Francis Peter Ojede. Artists, well-wishers and other stake holders offered their time, skill and expertise under the new management to embark on a road map to revitalizing and restoring the lost glory of the Uganda National Theatre.

We held different meetings with the outgoing Board of Trustees and the current management but we have come to a point where we think and conclude that enough is enough. The National Theatre has to be reclaimed and managed by artists themselves. Close interactions with the current Management of UNCC has proved that the people in these positions are not only incompetent but also very ignorant of the roles and duties of the UNCC and those of the Uganda National Theatre.

The management of UNCC has ignored what they are mandated to do and resorted to managing the National Theatre, NOT as an institution but as a building structure, and particularly concentrating on collecting parking fees and letting out space to tenants. As artists, we have been patient enough to give the Board of Trustees and management of UNCC an opportunity to put right all that they messed up and put the Uganda National Theatre back on track.

The Artists` Commitment:

Today, we highlight on the need to create new initiatives to showcase Uganda’s artistic and technical talent in the field of performing Arts (Theatre) and film in advancement of Ugandan culture and as a tool for mobilization, sensitization and education for sustainable community-based development initiatives. We are creating an opportunity for the varied skills and talents among the performing artists to be brought together in such a way as to offer them development and infrastructural upgrade of benefit to the industry as a whole.

It is our individual and collective commitment today, to devise and concretize initiatives towards an immediate reclaim, takeover, promotion and popularize the Uganda National Theatre as an institution for artistic development of The Performing Arts and film in Uganda.

The Demand:

We therefore demand for revitalization of the Arts and consideration of the immediate efforts that have been made priority for the Performing Arts and Film in Uganda, be remolded to becoming one of the main sources of employment for young people in Uganda.

The roadmap:

1: RECREATING THE NATIONAL THEATRE AS AN INSTITUTION:

The National Theatre has always been mistaken to be only the building at Plot 2,4,6 along Dewinton road in Kampala, yet the building is supposed to be the headquarters of the Theatre and Film Network in Uganda. As we build the work plan for 2021-25, we are committed to recreating the National Theatre as an institution for performing arts and Film in Uganda.

The institution shall be an operational Performing Arts structure that runs from National level and through Regional, District to Sub-County levels. The Performing Arts and Film Regions shall be drawn based on language i.e, Buganda, Busoga, Samia/Bugwe, Japadhola, Bugisu, Sebei, Ateso, Karimojong, Lango, Acholi, Alur, Madi, Lugbara, Kakwa, Bunyoro, Ankole, Toro, Bakonjo/Bamba, Bakiga and Bafumbira. 

The meeting was convened by concerned family members, including a prominent business woman (name Withheld), after it had emerged that their father had resolved to take matters into his own hands to sort out issues bent on shredding his family apart.

Fabiola, her hubby Mark Ronald Mubiru and mother who are alleged to be the root cause of the family wrangles, did not show up at the meeting.

One of Country Uganda`s renowned veteran Photo Journalists and tour guru, Mathias Mugisha confirmed that during the meeting, Ronald, Grace and himself apologized for any wrong doing that might have occurred between them and agreed to move forward as a family.

However, we are informed that the meeting was clouded with phone calls from the Anita team that did not show up, warning Grace and Ronald of severe repercussions that they will face, for back stabbing` them.

Seeing her siblings had jumped out of `the struggle`, including Ronald on whose `ICU Plight` she was driving to justify her abusive stand against her father, now leaving only her, mother and hubby in the middle of nowhere, Fabiola pulled another string. 

She doctored a statement and put her father at a `finger point, ` telling him to either post the missive on his social media pages and correct her morally dented persona, or risk being alienated by all other family members.  

In an exclusive interview with this reporter, a distressed Mugisha, who seems to be physiologically taunted, revealed that Anita, the now chief financier of her mother and siblings and in whom their livelihood thrives, demanded that he either honors her demands and accept her fiancé Mark Ronald Mubiru, or risk being permanently erased from their lives. 

“My daughter is trying to compromise me for a man I do not know or what his real objection is, they want me to leave my house for their mother to take over, this is too much. Please take me seriously. Come ask the neighbors, please.” We understand that had Mugisha embraced Fabiola`s hubby in the first place, what we see wouldn`t have been. Mugisha shared the missive his daughter demands he MUST post or face the worst. 

Fabiola’s PR Statement.

“Message from Mathias Mugisha and family 

Matthias Mugisha and family over the last few days have been faced with a situation of deep emotional challenges. However, as a family we thank all our friends and relatives who came to our support in various forms and ways. We are currently being attended to by requisite spiritual and emotional professionals and seeking more professional assistance in various ways to resolve our family issues.

As the head of the family, I wish to thank everyone who has reached out to us as well as held us in your prayers. Your enormous support and love is even bigger testimony that we should do everything to resolve our current situation.

Personally, am committed to creating a harmonious environment with my immediate family as well as the not so immediate family such as my in-laws who I recognize as stakeholders in my family now.

Let us all desist from the falsehoods being peddled on social media. Best wishes for the season and happy 2022.

Mathias Mugisha

Anita Fabiola” 

Reading in-between the missive lines, Fabiola seeks her father to forcefully accept her hubby as his own family: “…with my immediate family as well as the not so immediate family such as my in-laws who I recognize as stakeholders in my family now.” The draft also reveals that her business contracts might be at cross-roads.   

The Chronology of family feud

For the past decade there has been a storm brewing in a tea cup at the Mugisha residence in Kasangati off Gayaza road, with a sustained silent but deep-seated war going on between the father and mother as they both tried to take control of the children’s mentoring.

With Mugisha assuming his role of providing for the family’s daily welfare and educational overheads, the mother assumed the role of giving them career guidance and has always been the steward of almost 80{0945c2a372ac1e8bbfe7cc3e10f9b82eb0b8ae872b07368d754f0396b6ef2afe} of their decisions.

A story is told of how Mugisha, who despite being in the photography business, was shocked to the marrow on discovering that the girl on the catwalk vying for the Miss Uganda accolade under the name Anita Fabiola, was actually his daughter Anita Kyalimpa.

When he confronted the mother over this development, he unknowingly opened up a whirl of resistance from his wife, who accused him of trying to frustrate the promising future of their daughter as a beauty queen. Since then, theirs has been an animosity kind of relationship that later culminated into the bad blood that the world is witnessing now. 

Mugisha, was in for a rude awakening when his daughter’s TV career and event hosting took off. With some steady cash flowing in, she found freedom from her father and has since been putting up appearances to avoid the media prying into the ugly family issues that her family is facing. 

Hell Breaks Loose 

At about this time with the drunkenness of her daughter’s success and financial independence, the mother was cheered on by a group of women who included a one Carol and Mama Isa, who made it a ritual to storm her house while the husband was around and throw tantrums at the hapless fellow.

The same group of women with the assistance of Anita and a Muscled Mark Mubiru, once in June 2021, raided the Mugisha residence and ‘rescued’ their mother whom they have since relocated to her brother Justus’ home in Manyangwa off Gayaza road, though she is also known to take sojourns at Anita’s Buziga home.

This development has since enraged Mugisha, who still insists that Mark Mubiru is a stranger who has never been introduced to him by any of his daughters though his estranged wife thinks otherwise.

Mugisha Finally Fights Back 

In or about June 2021, Mugisha, as a true African father, physically disciplined  his disrrespective son Ronald, who would later with the coercion from the mother and Anita, allege ‘aggravated battery` though no proof of a police reference or hospital admission history confirms the same.

When asked on Wednesday whether he really beat his son to pulp, Mugisha laughed off the accusation saying thus; “how can my son who is in coma be at our home in a meeting with me! Please let’s be realistic, this is not an ICU Unit.” 

Mugisha, has now resolved to give the other two parties time as he hopes that they will also come to the table and close this sad chapter. But he insists that Mark Mubiru is a stranger with whom he will not be dealing in the near future whatsoever. We pray for the best. 

To contribute to this story, call or send a WhatsApp DM to the writer via +256788501147

Since he started the cold war against the mighty Investigator supposedly for publishing the story of how he fraudulently bought Simbamannyo House from Equity Bank, several people have urged us to dig deep into Sudhir’s arrest at the airport 30 years ago. Though some people in their forties have an illusionary memory of the arrest, none knows of the particulars.

Trust money, not even in renowned archives centers in Kampala we could find this record. Even search engines know about only what Sudhir himself want them to know of him. Well, we are here to resurrect the three decade old story which, was first published in the New Vision of Saturday November 9^th 1991 under the headline; “Customs impound forex in Entebbe.”

Reported by Ndyakira Amooti, the story is hereby reproduced with, but light edits: “Forex worth 194 million shillings was intercepted by customs officials at Entebbe Airport last weekend. According to reliable sources in the Ministry of Finance, the forex in personal checks and Bank drafts was contained in a DHL parcel that had been declared as documents.

The parcel was about to be delivered to a waiting Kenya Airways plane. The impounded forex checks and bank drafts amounting to USD81201.50, British Pounds 57101 and Germany DM47500, an equivalent of UGX194M. The Director General of Customers Prof. Samuel Karugire confirmed the seizure of the checks in question and said they were still investigating the matter.

The sources said last Saturday, when the airport customs made an impromptu check of the DHL parcel about to go in the Kenya Airways plane, they discovered the parcel contained various personal checks and bank drafts without authorization documents. The declaration form on the envelope stated that there were documents inside. On the parcel, it was indicated that the sender was Patrick B. of P.O Box 55047, Kampala.  

The DHL parcel in question was being sent to a company in the United Kingdom by the names of Stop-n-Go on the address 199, Arundel Street, Portsmouth. The sources which preferred anonymity, said the impounded DHL parcel contained personal checks sold to Crane Forex Bureau amounting to USD12001, British Pounds 7091 and Germany DM3,000.

Also found were Bank Drafts issued by Barclays Bank in Kampala to various persons and companies. The drafts amounted to USD54500, another amount of British Pound 50000 in bank drafts had been issued by the Standard Chartered Bank in Kampala.

The parcel further contained USD11, 100 in the Bank Drafts issued by Kampala based Nile Bank. There was another DM34500 and USD3500 in checks belonging to a Company that was unidentified. By Thursday evening, no one had turned up at Entebbe Customs to claim the impounded checks.

However, yesterday afternoon, sources from the customs said Patrick Baguma of Club Tropicana 1-Ten had written to the department claiming the intercepted forex. The Reporter went to DHL offices in Kampala twice yesterday for a comment on the matter but was told that a one Apollo Spencer who would make a comment was not in office. This is the second incident in which forex have been intercepted at Entebbe Airport in less than 20 days.

On October 13^th, an Indian, one Rajendra Kumar Raichura, who was an employee of Kobil Limited at the time of the closed Orient Forex Bureau, was intercepted trying to smuggle out of the country, more than USD1M. Raichura and the Directors, Karia Morjaria and Ketan Morjaria have since been deported. The summary order to deport them was castigated by President Museveni”… End

Documents before our crime desk indicate how Sudhir was eventually identified as the prime suspect. Upon this revelation, the now tycoon and honorary Doctor spent some leisure moments in months, at the Luzira based University of Understanding. But trust his courage, he even unsuccessfully tried to bribe his way out of the saga, through then ISO Boss Brig. Jim Muhwezi. But that was a time when bribes were a no-mention… Watch this space…        

Mbuga, who is known for being a rabid ‘jealousy’ lover, is said to have hacked into Jalia’s social media accounts in a bid to get information and evidence of suspected extra-marital affairs, prior to this ugly incident.

A close friend of Mbuga who preferred anonymity told this reporter that ever since coming from his prison, sojourn has been suspicious of Jalia and that he has been trailing her movements and communications.

Jalia, on Sunday morning broke the noose over her violent husband by posting – ‘Stop domestic violence.  Since you hacked my Instagram account . Hack into  this one too’

The statement follows reports from the STV station workers, who have been alleging that their bosses Mbuga and Jalia have been having fights at the station. Though this was until then kept under the carpet for fear of losing their jobs.

Moments later, estranged fashion guru Kim Swagger who is said to have introduced Mbuga to Jalia, also came out on his social media warning Mbuga against the continued battering of his sister. He went on to further claim that Mbuga wanted to kill him.

He wrote, ‘I have kept mute about your evil behaviours for a long time, even when you wanted to murder me, but the almighty God will work on you one day and trust me it will be a knock out. My sis Jalia Vivienne Mbuga, am sorry for introducing you to that man. I will forever take the blame #stopdomesticviolence’.

It should be noted that SK Mbuga and Jalia were accused of defrauding a swedish national of billions of shillings. Jalia then told authorities when nabbed about the alleged fraud, and arreyed, that Sten Heinsoo was simply her sugar daddy and boyfriend. Her true love was in Uganda and these were some of the ‘gold pics’ that she sent him and; he wired more money on seeing them. In total, he wired 53Krona to a Ugandan bank, the equivalent of shs23.8bn..

SK Mbuga and his Domestic Violence history

It should be noted that Mbuga’s first wife Fatuma Zalwango, in 2013, also alleged that the ‘tycoon’ was not only battering her but had neglected their children and decided to  take on her sister singer Leila Kayondo, as his new wife.

Fatuma, then alleged that she had introduced Leila, to Mbuga , to promote her music but was disheartened by their ‘live-in’ affair.

Mbuga was inaccessible through his known line.