Victoria University Launches Pastor Bugembe’s 20-Year Music Journey With Stirring Call To Purpose

By Gad Masereka

Victoria University today lit up with purpose and celebration as it launched the highly anticipated “20 Years of Pastor Wilson Bugembe Music” concert, an event that blends spiritual reflection with cultural recognition.

Held in the university auditorium, the launch attracted a full house of over 1,000 students from the July–August intake, transforming what might have been a routine orientation into a powerful reminder of resilience, faith, and meaningful impact.

Scheduled to take place on August 8, 2025, at the Kampala Serena Hotel, the main concert will commemorate two decades of Bugembe’s journey in gospel music and ministry.

Early bird tickets are available through the MTN MoMo platform at UGX 120,000, while corporate tables are priced at UGX 3 million. But beyond the logistics and fanfare, what made the launch especially compelling was Bugembe’s candid sharing of his life story, one marked by tragedy, transformation, and divine grace.

Orphaned at a young age and forced to survive on the streets of Kampala, Bugembe recounted how he was rescued by a Good Samaritan who introduced him to church.

It was in that nurturing community that he received his first sense of dignity through the gift of clean clothes, a mattress, and a message that his life mattered. “That offering didn’t just change my situation, it changed me,” Bugembe told the audience.

Now a widely respected gospel artist and senior pastor at The Worship House in Nansana, Bugembe has extended that same grace to others through his Mercy Child Care Centre in Wakiso, which provides shelter and hope to children who, like him, once had none.

His rise from the margins of society to a national stage has inspired countless Ugandans, and the partnership with Victoria University signals a deepening of that impact.

Expressing profound appreciation, Bugembe credited Victoria University and MTN Uganda for stepping forward to support his first-ever sponsored concert. “This is not just support, it’s partnership with purpose,” he said.

He singled out Vice Chancellor Prof. Lawrence Muganga for a personal gesture that struck many in the room: the full bursary sponsorship of five children from Bugembe’s orphanage. “I don’t pay a single coin,” Bugembe remarked. “Prof. Muganga didn’t just talk about transformation, he lived it.”

That spirit of transformation continued through Prof. Muganga’s address to the students, a rousing call to think beyond degrees and aspire to influence. “You’re here to be problem solvers, creators, and leaders,” Muganga said. “You study for only 15 hours a week, use the rest to start something, build something, impact lives.”

He reinforced the university’s identity as Uganda’s most digitally advanced higher education institution, offering students laptop loans and insisting on full digital integration in learning. “If you don’t have a smartphone or laptop, you’re already behind,” he stated, urging students to engage with digital tools and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence to carve out their futures.

As the event reached its crescendo, Bugembe took to the stage not as a guest but as a performer, leading students in an impromptu medley of his best-loved songs. Students who showed remarkable vocal talent were surprised with complimentary tickets to the main concert, an emotional moment that underscored the theme of upliftment and inclusion.

As Victoria University continues to reshape what higher education looks like in Uganda, today’s gathering was a vivid illustration of its ethos: that students are not just learners, but potential leaders being equipped to change the world around them.

In celebrating Bugembe’s story, the university reminded its newest students that no circumstance is permanent, and with purpose and persistence, anything is possible.