TAKEAWAYS

• Levixone says Passport Yange was inspired by his years-long struggle to obtain a Ugandan passport.

• The singer claims officials repeatedly told him to seek documents from Rwanda because of his name, despite being born and raised in Uganda.

• He says the song was written after one particularly painful rejection, and later Pastor Grace Lubega helped him finally secure the passport.

Ugandan gospel singer Levixone has opened up about the painful real-life experience that inspired his hit song Passport Yange, revealing that it was born out of years of frustration while trying to obtain a Ugandan passport.

Speaking about the song’s origin, Levixone said his troubles began after he got an opportunity to perform in Canada but could not travel because he had no passport. When he went to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to apply, he says an official dismissed him and told him to go to Rwanda for documentation because of his name, Ruvyogo.

Levixone explained that although his mother is Rwandese, he was born in Nakasongola, raised in Uganda, and had never even stepped foot in Rwanda.

“I told him I was born here in Uganda, I have lived here all my life, but he insisted I should go to Rwanda because of my name.”

The singer said he returned to the passport office more than once whenever opportunities to travel came up, but each time he was met with the same rejection. According to him, nearly seven years passed without any success.

One of those encounters pushed him to the edge. Levixone recalled leaving the ministry angry and heartbroken, then walking through Nakulabye toward Kosovo, where he was staying at the time. Along the way, he met producer Boris, who noticed his distress and invited him to the studio.

“I carried all that pain, anger and disappointment into the studio, and that is how Passport Yange was born.”

Levixone said the song later became a turning point in his life. After he shared the story on radio, Pastor Grace Male heard it and reached out to help. It was through that intervention that he eventually managed to get his passport.

His experience also echoes a wider concern often raised by some Banyarwanda in Uganda, who say they have faced similar difficulties while trying to secure identification and travel documents.