Cindy Sanyu has weighed in on the explosive feud between Crysto Panda and Gloria Bugie, saying Bugie crossed a line by bringing Panda’s personal losses into the fight — but arguing that the clash was ultimately fair because both artists traded deeply personal attacks.
The long-running tension between the two Ugandan musicians recently escalated online, with Bugie targeting Panda over his status as an orphan and the loss of his child.
Bugie took to X with a highly personal message, questioning Panda’s struggles and suggesting that losing his child was karma for what she described as his bad heart.
The remarks triggered backlash, including from fellow singer Sheebah Karungi, who condemned the use of someone’s loss of a parent or child as a weapon during an argument.
Cindy, however, sees the situation differently when the entire exchange is considered.
Speaking to Tawfiq Media, the veteran singer said there was “fire from the East” before “fire from the West,” arguing that neither side could claim complete innocence because both artists had delivered damaging remarks.
“I think the war is fair,” Cindy said. “There is no innocent side.”
While she acknowledged that Bugie’s comments about Panda’s family losses were “over the line,” Cindy pointed to Panda’s earlier comments about Bugie’s body as an important part of the context.
For Cindy, that particular kind of attack can cut especially deeply because of how sensitive body image can be for women.
“This is a woman; our bodies are sacred to us, and we are very sensitive about our bodies,” she said, explaining that someone can spend considerable time working on their appearance only to have those efforts publicly attacked.
Cindy’s argument does not mean she approved of Bugie’s comments. Instead, she framed the exchange as a brutal back-and-forth in which both sides had already been hit where it hurt.
The controversy has now drawn multiple reactions from Uganda’s music community, with Sheebah taking a significantly stronger position against Bugie’s decision to invoke Panda’s grief.
Cindy, meanwhile, urged both artists to put the clash behind them after the wounds from the exchange have had time to heal.
“They can each heal their wounds and let that be over,” she said.
For now, the Crysto Panda-Gloria Bugie feud has become bigger than a simple exchange of insults, with personal losses, appearance and long-running tensions all becoming part of the public argument.