Popular city socialite, Allan Kanyike aka the dynamite, has breathed his last, according to reports.
Kanyike who has been a popular sight at Kampala’s night spots, reportedly succumbed to brain haemorrhage on Thursday.
He was a regular at Zone 7, in Mbuya every Wednesday where Janzi Band performs live. He followed the same band to Diner’s Lounge in Bukoto every Thursday.
He was popular for his “Kanyike dance.”
On Fridays, he was a patron at Faze 2, in Nakasero, where Rockamilley rocks the night.
His night life also saw him become a regular at Liquid Silk, in Bugolobi, which hosts a band on Saturday nights.
“Music is in my blood. I was born a happy man and music has made me a happier man,” he said in a recent interview.
In 2016, he spoke to a local dialysis about his life. Below are some of the excerpts.
He began school in Fort Portal but followed his parents into exile in 1972 to Mombasa, after Idi Amin captured power.They lived in Nyali for nine years. When Amin was overthrown, the family returned and he joined Shack for six years. The country became unsettled again as Milton Obote was ousted, Kanyike’s family fled to Nairobi.He pursued his ABE (Association of Business Executive) at Strathmore College in Nairobi. They returned to Uganda.
His father, Anthony Henry Kanyike, got a job with Total Uganda. Kanyike got a job with Statewide Insurance Company Limited where he worked for four years.
“I got married to my first wife Florence Kanyike and we had a child, Kelvin Clive Kanyike who is making 27 soon,” he explains, adding that he has another son, Dr Ian Bwete, with Barbara Kakoma, a daughter of the late George William Kakoma.
Towards the end of 1988, he left Uganda for UK. When he got there, he got a job as a banqueting officer in Holborn, London. While there, he rose through the ranks to become a manager at the biggest conference centre in London at the time. He used his influence to get jobs at the institute for qualified Ugandans.
InvestmentsAfter eight years, he got a placement as property manager at Queen’s Bridge Management Ltd, a real estate company. He managed 42 properties in London.“From day one, I wanted to invest back home given the exposure we got in Mombasa. When the recession hit the world, I chose to return home and manage my properties,” he recounts. One of the properties was Allan & Pinky Resort in Mbalala, Mukono, which did not go well and was sold off. He got married again, in UK, to Justine Asiimwe and the couple bore two daughters; Melanie Rosette Kanyike and Amanda Pinky Kanyike.
