Veteran journalist and former Voice of America (VOA) host Shaka Ssali has died.
Shaka Ssali was aged 71.
He was famous for hosting the popular weekly show Straight talk Africa.
Shaka Ssali retired in 2021. By the time of his retirement, he had served for up to two decades.
A former Ford Foundation fellow, he held a doctorate in cross-cultural communication and history from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).
In his career, he won several awards, including United Nations Peacekeeping Special Achievement Award in International Journalism and VOA’s Best Journalist Award.
Shaka Ssali breathed his last in Virginia in the US on Thursday, March 27, 2025. The VOA spoke of Shaka Ssali’s” indelible legacy in African journalism” in its announcement of the veteran journalist’s death.
“We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Shaka Ssali, the longtime host of VOA’s Straight Talk Africa. Ssali, a revered journalist and broadcaster, passed away at the age of 71, two weeks shy of his 72nd birthday, leaving behind an indelible legacy in African journalism,” the VOA said.
“For more than two decades, Ssali was the face and voice of Straight Talk Africa, where he engaged African leaders, analysts, and citizens in critical discussions on democracy, governance, and development. His insightful interviews and unwavering commitment to press freedom earned him widespread respect across the continent and beyond.”
Hailing from Kabale District, Shaka Ssali’s Straight Talk Africa show discussed topical issues from Africa.
He has lived in the US for many years.
In 1968, Shaka Ssali joined the Ugandan army as a paratrooper after he was expelled in Senior Two at Kigezi College.
After Kigezi College, he joined Kololo Secondary School but would not spend there long. He dropped out in his Senior Three at the age of 16.
Shaka Ssali completed his cadet training. Commissioned as a lieutenant, he would fall in trouble in 1974 over his alleged involvement in an attempted coup to topple Amin.
He would flee to Kenya, returning to Uganda months later to engage in ivory smuggling or international business as he joked about this illicit trade.
“I often say that information is the oxygen of democracy. When I left my country in 1976, I left behind a corrupt regime. Information was manipulated, human rights were abused, justice did not exist,” he told the Young Africans Leadership Initiative (YALI) website team.
“Fast forward a few decades later and I find myself in a position to ask tough questions of people who play a leading role in shaping the future of the African continent. But I also open the microphone to concerned African citizens who also want to ask questions and get answers that affect their lives directly.”
He would join the VOA in 1992.
In 2000, he started hosting Straight Talk Africa.
Details about the cause of his death are not fully known. Journalist Sudhir Byaruhanga said Shaka Ssali had undergone surgery.
“My uncle Shaka Ssali died about two hours ago from the US, where has been living for the bigger part of his life and journalism career. He recently underwent a surgery following months of battling an ailment. The kid from Kigezi started working as a correspondent on VOA,” wrote Byaruhanga.
Prominent Ugandans have taken to social media to celebrate the life of Shaka Ssali, the Kabale kid.
“I’d always hoped to meet Shaka Ssali. I never did. If I had, I’d have thanked him for inspiring me to look beyond Uganda. Beyond Africa. He was truly a trailblazer! May he rest in peace,” wrote Alan Kasujja of the BBC.
“Fare thee well, great man, Shaka Ssali. You have played an incredible role in advancing human rights and good governance on the African continent and beyond. Rest well, sir,” wrote National Unity Platform (NUP) secretary general David Lewis Rubongoya.
In Shaka Ssali’s Words
— journalism or becoming a cow boy — maybe joining the army | excerpts from interview with VOA in 2021
- When I was a kid, I remember my father had a radio by the name of Pie, and he used to that radio every day.
- I would join him every day at the fireplace in the living room to listen to those voices, and one thing led to another.
- In primary school, I used to interact with cinema movies to the extent that initially, I wasn’t thinking about journalism, but rather I was thinking about becoming a cowboy.
- I admired a guy called John Wayne, Gene Autry and Clint Eastwood at that time. I wanted to become a cowboy, but I couldn’t make it.
- Sometimes, I would look at soldiers in uniform, and they looked very smart. They had unfettered access to a pistol, and I thought I liked to play with it. I liked their discipline and the parade.
- When I was in primary school and junior high school secondary, I was part of the school boys’ brigade, and that’s how I eventually ended up in the military, not knowing that the military as an institution was an incredibly conservative and reactionary type of institution which required a lot of discipline.”
Additional reporting: courtesy
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