Ethan Kavuma Wins Sanyu FM Hot Mic Talent Search

The 88.2 Sanyu FM talent search codenamed Sanyu FM Hot Mic Search came to a blissful end on Friday with Rajiv Ruparelia, the station’s managing director, announcing Ethan Kavuma as the winner at an event which took place at Crane Chambers in Kampala.

Kavuma beat ten other finalists to clinch the top spot. He, in turn, won Shs3m and a job contract to work with Sanyu FM. The second runners up Timothy Code and first runner up Philo Mena will also get jobs at the radio station.

“This is the start of the journey of your passion; follow your dreams. You all have amazing traits individually and I would advise you to pursue your dreams. This is what you love to do,” Rajiv said.

“I always tell people that we are all the same. We are born with nothing and you work on your talent, you have to manage your talent. One of the greatest traits around me is to have good people,” he added.

“I would like to give three of you an opportunity to work with Sanyu Fm. It will depend on how determined you’re going to be and how much you are going to learn,”

“The day you stop learning is the day you will knockdown. Working with Sanyu FM is going to be tiresome and will need a lot of commitment but I want to see the best out of you,” Rajiv counselled.

Kavuma, an upcoming RnB artist said: “I am so excited. I didn’t see this coming. I am very happy to be part of a new generation at Sanyu FM. There is going to be a lot that I am going to bring to Sanyu FM and you guys are going to be excited,”

The talent search dubbed “Hot Mic Search” was launched last month and attracted over 1500 entries. The entries were later reduced to 50 contestants, then 20 and later the final 10 whose performance was judged by a judges’ panel of Chris Ireland, Don Miles and Roger Mugisha.

Each candidate was given a chance to showcase skills in lone presentation, co-presentation and topical discussions. The judges chose the topics from both local and international current affairs. Kavuma emerged the best.

Roger Mugisha the new program’s director at Sanyu FM says the radio management realized the need to mentor potential candidates for radio in an era where presenters seem to be recycled from one station to another.

Mugisha explained that young people are not mentored to take over from those that have been in the industry for so long. Sanyu FM was founded in 1993, becoming the first private FM radio station in Uganda.