TV anchor and media personality, Canary Mugume is celebrating his 27th birthday but some folks don’t quite believe it.
When he posted on his social media on Friday, many commented with skepticism. Some wondered how someone can have his life all figured out at such an age.
At 27, Canary has managed to weave a career in broadcast – radio and TV – during which he has interviewed President Yoweri Museveni.
News has always been part of his life, from way back in P5 when he anchored news on a kids show on Mbarara-based Radio West every Sunday.
He would later become an Information Prefect during his days at Mbarara Secondary School.
He drew his inspiration from then popular UTV anchor Bbale Francis.
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After his S6, Canary waited three years until he got a scholarship to pursue Computer Science and Software Engineering at International University of East Africa (IUEA). The scholarship had been made possible by the exposure he got while working at Channel 44. But getting this TV gig didn’t come easy.
“I used to walk from Nalukolongo to come to town and try my luck at different TV stations. At some point my mom told me to give up on TV and try other things,” Canary has said in a previous interview.
In 2014, at age 20, he launched his TV career on Channel 44 where for 2 years, he hosted a show focusing on youths.
It’s from there that he crossed to NBS TV in 2016 where he signed a contract after 8 months on probation.
“I was so happy. I told myself I must retain this job and give it my best. I remember telling Kin Kariisa that I wanted to be a news anchor. He told me ‘Relax, you have to begin in the field and learn how the news is reported’.”
A year later, he was anchoring, ‘Sunrise’, NBS TV’s daily bulletin at dawn.
“Everything I do, I want it to be excellent. If I’m doing a story, I want to do it to the best of my ability. Because of that push, I find myself giving it extra effort. I can’t even fully utilize my leave. I feel like cheating myself.”
When the pandemic hit, Canary’s online following quickly grew, having made his Twitter account the go-to place for breaking news about Covid-19.
One of the highlights of his broadcast career so far has been interviewing the President. He describes it as his biggest achievement yet.
Last year, he became anchor for NBS TV’s primetime news. In September of the same year, he married his longtime girlfriend, Sasha Ferguson.
He juggles his broadcast career with real estate business.
Prior to TV, Canary wrote for Daily Monitor’s Tvibe magazine among other gigs with Buzz Magazine, Young Achievers Awards as well as fashion modeling.
