Musician and instrument inventor Ssewa Ssewa is calling for greater national recognition of the Janzi, a unique 22-string instrument he developed from the traditional Ugandan adungu.
During his recent appearance on NTV Uganda’s Mwasuze Mutya, Ssewa Ssewa, whose real name is James Ssewakiryanga, argued that the instrument deserves recognition as part of Uganda’s cultural identity.
“The Janzi, as a cultural instrument, should be recognised because it is unique to Uganda,” he said in a clip shared by NTV Uganda.
In a related segment, the founder of Janzi Band spoke about the challenges of creating and patenting an invention in Uganda, expressing hope that Ugandans would embrace the Janzi in the same way they have adopted other musical instruments.
The Janzi is a modern 22-string instrument featuring two sets of 11 strings, one arranged diatonically and the other pentatonically. Inspired by the traditional adungu, it combines elements of Uganda’s musical heritage with a design intended to make it more practical for modern performances.
The instrument is constructed entirely from wood and features guitar-style tuning pegs and an integrated pickup for amplification. Its design was influenced partly by the challenges Ssewa Ssewa faced transporting traditional adungus during international tours, including an incident at Copenhagen Airport in 2014.
Development of the Janzi began around 2015, followed by intellectual property protection through the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) and registration with the Uganda Registration Services Bureau in 2017. The instrument was officially launched in Uganda in 2019.
Through his work with Janzi Band, Ssewa Ssewa has continued to promote the instrument as a way of modernising Ugandan musical traditions while preserving their cultural roots.
His latest remarks renew the conversation about how locally developed innovations can receive wider public recognition and contribute to Uganda’s cultural identity.
For Ssewa Ssewa, broader acceptance of the Janzi would mean more than recognition of a musical invention; it would also help promote a Ugandan creation to audiences at home and abroad.
View this post on Instagram
