Conclusion
“Unadvisable Kayemba” operates as a musical case study on failed governance, using its narrative structure to document the consequences of rejected counsel. The composition employs King Kayemba’s reign as historical evidence to deliver a broader political thesis about the proper exercise of power. The song’s very title emphasizes its central theme by permanently labeling Kayemba as “unadvisable.” Accordingly, it transforms a specific ruler’s character flaw into a cautionary archetype. By memorializing this leadership flaw through music, “Unadvisable Kayemba” creates an accessible political philosophy that transcends literacy barriers.
In “Unadvisable Kayemba,” Deziderio blends the topics of violence and political injustice present in the other songs he performed and contextualized. The story he tells, in comparison to the ones that interpreters of the song provide, illustrates how different types of knowledge are shared by various generations of Ugandans. Whereas Deziderio, a lifelong servant to the king, recounts King Kayemba’s shrewdness, interpreters recount stories that portray some national government leaders as unadvisable and stubborn. Perhaps the differences in the two sides’ approaches to leadership reflect the increased distrust in the national government that has come to define the lives of the commentators. Some interpreters use “Unadvisable Kayemba” as a platform for criticizing President Museveni, whose period of leadership of almost four decades has allegedly been met with issues of distrust and broken communication. Other commentators interpret “Unadvisable Kayemba” in the light of countless failures and frustrations of contemporary political regimes within other contexts. Although the song refers to a specific historical king, the sentiment remains truthful throughout time, as its lyrical content acts as a protest of oppression in general. The figure of the clay boat in “Unadvisable Kayemba” persists as a representation of the political issues that can destroy a leader and his people, yet the song also exemplifies how the conception of a song evolves in response to historical events.