If you have been at the National Theatre for a play, a movie, a wedding meeting or for the weekly comedy shows, then you have certainly tasted or seen someone enjoy some nyama choma.
The man behind the tasty nyama choma is Rogers Tamukedde a.k.a. Roja. He has been roasting nyama choma at the theatre for the past decade.
But if you haven’t tasted this nyama choma, your chances might run out this weekend. Reason? Roja was last month issued with an eviction notice by the new management of the facility. He was given up to the end of this month to vacate what has been his work station for the past decade.
Roja told us that towards the end of last month, he was summoned by two ladies; Jackie Ampire and a one Abooti, who introduced themselves as the new human resource manager and administrator respectively. The ladies asked Roja for his tender’s agreement, which he didn’t have and later told him they wanted to improve standards of the facility. As such, they cautioned him to up his standards and also be ready to pay Shs500,000 in rent, up from Shs300,000.
Roja told the ladies that he couldn’t afford the amount. A week later, he was served with an eviction notice that gave him just till end of this month to find another place.
Roja has told most of his customers that range from corporates, star actors and actresses, musicians, Members of Parliament that walk from their offices to the theatre to enjoy the nyama choma and random arts lovers that visit the theatre that he is moving to Pan World washing bay, adjacent to the theatre.
However, when contacted, Robert Musitwa, the theatre publicist denied knowledge of Roja’s eviction. “That letter should be null and void for now. We just had a management meeting and decided that Roja should keep working!” But Roja was ignorant about the management’s new decision and he told us that they had instead called him demanding that he returns the eviction letter they had issued him.
