Who is Frank Walusimbi?: Flash Uganda Media looks at his biography, age, family, wife, salary, NTV Uganda, work and experience, awards, early life, education and relationship with long-time lover Flavia
Frank Walusimbi is a Ugandan male television personality, news anchor, television presenter and journalist currently working with Nation Television (NTV).
As a simple and humble person, Frank Walusimbi was born in Kilembe Hospital, Kasese District. His father was an engineer and his mother was a housewife.
In one of his Facebook posts, Walusimbi shared a heartfelt story about his birth was he indicated that his mother did not have a car and the father’s motorcycle was in an extremely bad mechanical condition on the day she (his mother) developed labour pains.
It was a good Samaritan who lived near them that helped transport his mother to Kilembe Hospital which was very far from where they lived.
Being one of the most popular television personalities in Uganda, Frank walusimbi was raised as a Catholic while growing up but desired to become a born again Christian (Pentecostal) when he grew up.
Growing up in a very close-knit family, Frank Walusimbi claimed in one of his interviews that although his childhood was not affluent, it was very comfortable.
Early Life and Education
Frank Walusimbi attained his primary education from Busega Preparatory Primary School after which he joined Uganda Martyrs’ Secondary School, Rubaga for his O and A- level.
He studied Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication at Uganda Christian University and also holds a Masters degree in Development Studies from Nkozi University.
Meanwhile, he credits his secondary school for moulding him into a good character that most people admire today.
However, his fluent Luganda is not attributed to the stated schools but rather to his father who encouraged them to speak their mother language while at home.
While at school, Chemistry as a subject was very confusing to him since he found no reason in using symbols to mean words – “If you want to write water, I don’t see why you have to use symbols,” he said in one interview.
His music experience
His interest in music started when he was in school at Rubaga and for some time, Walusimbi took the career seriously something that also saw him record a couple of albums under Joe Tabula’s production.
Appropriately, during that time, Walusimbi won all competitions that he participated in at Nsambya Sharing Youth Centre.
Although his music career was steadily growing, he chose to take on his long term passion, Journalism and do away with singing.
Career
Growing up with great admiration for the late Venatio Ssenoga, the NTV news anchor joined radio while in his Senior Six vacation and since then he has not looked back.
The late Venatio Ssenoga was a radio journalist and hosted a well-researched science show on Radio Uganda in the aged Internet was unheard of.
Working with NTV since its inception, Walusimbi has been a fixture on Ugandan television for the past six years. His masterly of Luganda has ensured the continued popularity of the Luganda news broadcast on NTV every evening.
In 2004 towards the end of his degree in Mass Communication at UCU – Uganda Christian University, Mukono, Walusimbi started writing humorous pieces for the Sunday magazine as he was looking around for other stuff to do.
Later in 2005, Walusimbi joined the Daily Monitor as a features writer, and a reporter, from where he crossed to NTV in 2006.
With his seven years of experience in television news reporting and anchoring, Walusimbi has a bias towards working on development stories.
He reports widely on agriculture in Uganda with a belief that it is one sector that can employ a large fraction of youths in the country.
Walusimbi hosts a popular Luganda talk show, Tuwaye that airs every Sunday at 6 pm where he brings in different guests that he interviews on a popular bench.
In addition to scripting the extremely popular weekly Luganda satirical news segment, Zungulu.
Due to his inspirational media service, Frank Walusimbi has scooped many awards notably, the Radio and Television academy award of 2014 for the best factual program- Tuwaye, Outstanding Alumni of Uganda Christian University among others.
Frank Walusimbi quits
Frank Walusimbi, the well-known Luganda news anchor who anchored ”Akawungeezi” on NTV Uganda since 2006, is retiring from NTV Uganda with effect from Thursday 28th April 2022.
“This is the last bulletin I am anchoring. Who knows in future, God willing, whether I will make a return? Thank you for standing with me,” Frank Walusimbi noted.
At the end of his last bulletin read at “Akawungeezi” yesterday, Frank Walusimbi, in company with many of his colleagues, paid his last respects to the station and its viewers.
Throughout his career, Frank Walusimbi has distinguished himself from the pack of many talented journalists by his calmness, calm composure, superior Luganda dialect, and so much more.
Ugandans, including those who watched him on TV shows such as “NTV Akawungeezi” and the “Tuwaye” talk show, will forever remember Walusimbi’s television appearances.
Family
Frank Walusimbi, the anchor of NTV’s Luganda News, was introduced by his long-time lover Flavia in a traditional marriage known as Kwanjula today (October 30, 2021).
The Kwanjula was attended by friends, relatives, co-workers of NTV and family. The couple is planning to legalize their marriage early next year.
