Saad Shots’ sad departure

Saad Byakuleka, commonly known as Saad Shots, died on Good Friday, April 18, 2025, in a fatal motorbike accident along Entebbe Road.

His death left a hole not just in the photography world, but in the hearts of friends, family and the many Ugandans who came to know themselves through his lens.

Several major institutions and personalities he worked with took to social media to mourn him, celebrating his unmatched talent and warm spirit.

These included the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), Uganda Tourism Board (UTB), Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC), the Ministry of Tourism, and Uganda Airlines among others. High-profile figures like Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa, politician and artiste Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu (Bobi Wine), musicians Apass and Eddy Kenzo, among others, also paid tribute to the man who had captured their best moments and touched countless lives with his lens.

Born in 1992 to the late Hamdan Begye and Annet Nimurungi, Saad was a unique blend of two cultures: half Mufumbiro and half Munyankore. He was one of two siblings, sharing his life closely with his only sister, Sauda Katushabe Begye.

“Saad and I had a strong bond because we grew up together. We suffered and learned to live without our parents. We realized we only had each other, and we accepted that. He became my dad, my brother and my son and I became his mum and sister. We raised each other,” Katushabe recalls.

Before the celebrated camera
Saad’s journey was marked by determination and adaptability. According to his longtime friend Henry Arinaitwe (popularly known as Mr. Hneri), the two first met in 2018.

“I was working at SBC Media Centre when our boss introduced three guys. One of them was Saad. Later, when a DJ left for America, Saad was given the show to both play music and host. He did it so well. While in Mbale, he was my homeboy and we shared a room at one point.”
 
In 2019, Arinaitwe left Mbale to join Galaxy FM in Kampala. Around the same time, Saad also left radio and briefly worked as a driver for someone working at the former Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA). Through a mutual friend named Saleh, who was in the tours and travel business, Saad joined tourism.

“This was before he became a photographer,” Arinaitwe explains. “But it’s photography that really gave him the name and personality we all celebrate today.”
 
The first camera: A gift that changed everything

In what would be one of his final interviews posted online, Saad shared:
“I started as a radio personality in Mbale. But I couldn’t rely on one job, so I joined a tour and travel company. I offered airport pickups and later, safari trips. That’s when I fell in love with nature and with Uganda itself.”
 
“I had an iPhone 6, and I started taking photos with it. Then one day I met James, a tourist from the Netherlands, who had a Nikon D3300. Strangely, my phone photos looked better than his camera shots. He was so impressed that when he was leaving, he gave me the camera for free. That’s how my journey started.”

In the same interview, Saad added, “I think every photographer is a good. It all comes down to what we call composition and how you’re able to see something in a different way. Some people do it for money. Others, like me, do it for love. But we’re all good in our own ways.”
 
The “baby” that took his life
Saad’s daring spirit was something his sister says he carried from childhood.

“He once ate poisonous mushrooms and survived. Another time, he fell on a cow’s horn and made it out alive. He had been tried and tested,” Katushabe says.

“What he called passion, others saw as risk. And everyone warned him that the bike would end his life. He had just survived an accident on the same bike. I was still nursing his wounds. It’s only on Friday that I didn’t see him.”

Arinaitwe, his friend, added, “Saad loved that green bike. When I saw him last at the A Pass concert, he looked off. His eyes were red. He told me it was because of the night rides. I remember telling him at Gabriel Bar launch in Ntinda, ‘This bike will end you.’ And sadly, it did.” Saad referred to the race bike as his baby.
 
What kind of friend was Saad?
To the Ugandan online community, Saad was more than a photographer. He was a friend, a brother, a memory maker.

Gideon Kwikiriza, the President of Ugandans on Twitter/X (UOX), in an interview said, “We lost Saad. He meant a lot to us. He was friendly, social and down-to-earth. He was also very principled. Some mistook that for pride, but he just didn’t subscribe to hypocrisy or pretense.”

 “At every UOX event, he showed up and gave us the best shots. That’s why so many people turned up to send him off. He made us all look like somebody.”
 
Keeping his legacy alive
Kwikiriza and the UOX community are planning an initiative to support Saad’s children and keep his legacy going.

“We are launching a sh100m campaign to support his childrens' education. We want to make sure they finish school and live a good life. One of the events is a football match between Central UOX and Western UOX on May 3rd at Kakyeka Stadium in Mbarara. All proceeds go to the fund.” 

“We’ll also have a photo exhibition and auction, featuring Saad’s best shots. We’ll invite some of the companies and people he worked with to buy the framed pieces. All the money will go into a trust fund for his children, so they can feed off their father’s legacy.”
 
His last moments
According to Alex Muhumuza, Saad’s final hours were filled with care and affection.

“I traveled from Mbarara on Thursday. Saad asked me to bring chicken and plantain (gonja). I arrived around 8pm and found him lying on the couch. He ate, we talked, and went to bed around 2am. In the morning, he knocked on my door, asking what I wanted for breakfast. He cooked and brought it to me in bed.” 

“Later that day, someone called him to meet in Entebbe. He canceled a family visit to Kiwatule and left at around 2pm. By 4pm, I got the call. He was gone.”

A friend named Trouble also shared his memory of Saad’s final day: “We hadn’t seen each other for three weeks. He had just survived an accident and was still healing. But out of love, he came to Entebbe to see us.” “He smiled, joked laughed and he was happy. That was Saad. Joyful. Alive. And then… just like that, he didn’t make it home.