Veteran journalist Shaka Ssali has died
Veteran Journalist Shaka Ssali. PHOTO / COURTESY
What you need to know:
- Shaka Ssali was at the helm of Straight Talk Africa for more than two decades before his retirement
Shaka Ssali, the former host of Voice of America's flagship weekly program Straight Talk Africa, is dead.
Fondly known as the Kabale Kid, Ssali who was recently awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to media in Africa, is said to have died in Virginia, US , on Thursday, March 27, 2025.
"We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Shaka Ssali, the longtime host of VOA's Straight Talk Africa. Ssali, a revered journalist and broadcaster, passed away at the age of 71, two weeks shy of his 72nd birthday, leaving behind an indelible legacy in African journalism. For more than two decades, Ssali was the face and voice of Straight Talk Africa, where he engaged African leaders, analysts, and citizens in critical discussions on democracy, governance, and development. His insightful interviews and unwavering commitment to press freedom earned him widespread respect across the continent and beyond," VOA said in a statement.
A holder of doctorate degree in cross-cultural communication from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Shaka, born in Kabale District, retired from the US broadcaster, Voice of America, in May 2021 after 29 years, 20 of them as the founder, host and later managing editor of the legendary Straight Talk Africa talk show programme.
Shaka lived an inspirational life having risen in the ranks from a village boy in south-western Uganda who dropped out of school and became a child soldier before taking leap of faith with a journey to the United States, where he exceeded his dreams, rising to influence beyond borders.
He interviewed Africa’s most notable voices in academia, business and politics, among them presidents and prime ministers, and connected that with the thoughts of ordinary citizens to create a discourse about contemporary, leadership, governance and development agenda in Africa and a better future for the continent.
His guttural voice rang out from the VOA studios to create a platform, as tributes in his last show indicated, for the poor and rich, the powerful and powerless across Africa to interact.
Dr Shaka is a former Ford Foundation fellow and had received numerous honours, including a United Nations Peacekeeping Special Achievement Award in International Journalism, according to information curated from various websites.
During his stellar journalism career, he won VoA’s Best Journalist Award, The Uganda Diaspora Award 2011, and his alma mater, Kigezi College Butobere’s maiden Highest Achievement Award in International Human Communication.
The news about his passing sent shockwaves, with one of his admirers Mr Ronald Muhinda, eulogising Ssali as "a straight talking journalist who fairly, and without bias, gave Africa's opposition and liberation movements a voice on the world stage."
In a 2021 interview with VoA, Dr Ssali said he was motivated to join journalism by a series of events.
“When I was a kid, I remember my father had a radio by the name of Pie, and he used to listen to that radio every day. I would join him every day at the fireplace in the living room to listen to those voices, and one thing led to another. In primary school, I used to interact with cinema movies to the extent that initially, I wasn’t thinking about journalism, but rather I was thinking about becoming a cowboy. I admired a guy called John Wayne, Gene Autry and Clint Eastwood at that time. I wanted to become a cowboy, but I couldn't make it,” he said.
Talking about his inspiration to join the military, Dr Ssali added: “Sometimes, I would look at soldiers in uniform, and they looked very smart. They had unfettered access to a pistol, and I thought I liked to play with it. I liked their discipline and the parade. When I was in primary school and junior high school, I was part of the school boys’ brigade, and that’s how I eventually ended up in the military, not knowing that the military as an institution was an incredibly conservative and reactionary type of institution which required a lot of discipline.”
He left the military to join journalism as a profession because he wanted to do something about his military colleagues who were abusing power.
“When I left the army later, the first thing that came to mind was to get an opportunity to learn and become a journalist so that I could use it, not only as a tool for making people informed but also as a weapon for addressing the issues of social, economic, political justice for all of us,” he added.
