Ugandan music icon Joseph Mayanja a.k.a Jose Chameleone is slated to fly out at 4:00pm to Boston, Massachusetts in the US in the company of his younger brother Douglas Mayanja, also known as Weasel, also a musician. Their travel is being bankrolled by Chameleone’s longtime friend Juliet Zawedde.
Government is going to foot the medical bills incurred since his hospitalisation at Nakasero Hospital, in addition to paying for treatment, upkeep and other costs during the duo’s stay in the US. Additionally, the government has okayed Chameleone to exit through the VIP gate as he checks out at Entebbe airport.
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Doctors diagnosed the singer’s pancreas as having been inflamed and in need of a major surgery. According to Juliet Zawedde, air tickets for two have been procured at 6,000 USD for Chameleone’s executive ticket, and 2,000 USD for Weasel’s, all amounting to close to sh30m.
According to their flight schedule, they are expected to make a stopover at Dubai, before proceeding to Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts, with all bookings for the hospital and transport fully settled.
Asked what compelled her to assist the singer, Zawedde said they have been acquaintances for about twenty years, and that he is a friend to her family. She said she has assisted other people in a similar manner.
There are reports of conflict between Zawedde and government as to who should meet costs for Chameleone’s travel and treatment, with those in favour of government taking charge arguing that the singer is a national figure who should be accorded due honour, and that since government started on this earlier, they should be the ones to finalize the matter.
But because Zawedde had already bought the air tickets, she was given a go-ahead to proceed. She had reached an earlier agreement with his parents to have Mayanja given prior treatment instead of haphazardly bundling him on flight in a critical state. In subsequent talks attended by Moses Ssali alias Bebe Cool, a former singer, Zawedde was allowed to take charge of the flight costs since she had already bought the air tickets.
Government then took on the role of meeting medical bills and upkeep of the two while in the US. State Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Balaam Barugahara paid a courtesy visit to Chameleone while in Nakasero hospital and announced decision to make a drastic contribution to the singer’s treatment.