Party lover Kanyike bows out
Allan Kanyike, alias Dynamite, dances at one of Janzi Band’s performances at Zone 7. PHOTO | EDGAR R. BATTE
What you need to know:
- Kanyike breathed his last yesterday at St Francis Hospital Nsambya’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in Kampala yesterday due to high blood pressure-related complications.
He loved the party. Every single day of the week, Allan Kanyike, who proudly went by the alias Dynamite, was arguably Kampala’s number one ‘party animal’.
He created a signature dance, of moving his hands, feet and head in a cyclic manner no matter the rhythm, which endeared him to patrons.
The 68-year-old loved live band music and followed his favourite artistes to different hangouts on different days.
Kanyike breathed his last yesterday at St Francis Hospital Nsambya’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in Kampala yesterday due to high blood pressure-related complications.
“It’s with profound shock that I have learnt of the death of a very good bar friend Allan Kanyike, aka Dynamite. We shared a lot in common. We both lived in England, came back home to stay, and both loved music, especially live bands with Afrigo being our number one band,” Edward Sendi, a music critic, said.
Sendi says he had not met his friend in two months and only to learn of his death.
“It’s so sad but at least he partied to the maximum of enjoyment whenever he was out. Maybe the good Lord was preparing him for eternity,” he adds.
The jovial Kanyike returned from the United Kingdom in 2012 to enjoy his retirement in Uganda after working at Queen’s Bridge Management Limited for 18 years as a property manager.
He left Uganda to work in the UK in 1988, starting as a banqueting officer in Holborn, London. The deceased patron was devastated by the death of his son, Dr Ian Bwete, to Covid-19. He also lost his mother about two years ago. By press time, family and friends were beginning to converge at the family home in Ntinda.
Meanwhile, the news of his passing has been received with shock from fans, friends and family.
“Allan Kanyike has been our number one fan as Abeeka band and it could show in the support he showed us always. He has always told me he has lived his life to the fullest and he has been a happy man. That has strengthened me to only celebrate his life not be in sorrow,” artiste Pages.
Singer Jacinta Diana Masika says: “The first time I met Dynamite was in 2013. My friends and I used to go to Club Obligato to watch Afrigo Band. He was their regular follower and fan. Later on, when I joined Janzi Band with the former members who are now Abeeka, he became a fan of our band too, and followed us everywhere we went; Zone 7, Pyramids etc.”
“He always tipped us on stage,” she narrates, adding that what stood out for her was he did all that genuinely and generously, and he always expressed his love for people.
Masika says whenever she bumped into her self-confessed fan, he was always quick to say hello and commend her for her beautiful vocals and sense of fashion. The singer observes, “He has wholeheartedly supported Ugandan music, especially the live band scene. We shall surely miss him. May His soul Rest In Eternal Peace.”
Pages emotively adds: “I can’t pay him for the love he has shown me but I hope God grants him the best in his next life. Rest well my brother, dad, friend and the number one Live band music Fan.”
