Keeping the king’s secrets

A chance meeting with royalty changed his life forever. The former teacher turned cultural historian tells of his life as the Private Principal Secretary to Solomon Gafabusa Iguru I, the Omukama of Bunyoro.

Lowering the Union Jack
The son of a clergy man, late Rev Michael Ndoleriire, and a teacher, Georgina, Nsamba attributes a lot of his successes today to his Christian background and family’s love for farming. Born in 1947 at Mubende Hospital about 50 Kilometres away from his ancestral home in Mugarama sub county in Kibaale District, he is the second of eight children. His fondest childhood memory is of Independence Day in 1962, when he participated in lowering the union jack and lifting the Ugandan flag at his school then.

“I was 13 years old at independence. I was a boy scout at Nyakasura Teachers College,” he recollects. He remembers that the government then slaughtered buffaloes to offer to the residents of Fort Portal Town, where he was living, as part of festivities of independence. “Meat was being distributed under a tree at Boma grounds,” he says.

Nsamba summarises his life as one without major regrets. He believes he will head straight into retirement from his current job and enjoy his pension benefits as well as caring for his grandchildren. His hobbies include reading, socialising and jogging. He is currently writing a book about Bunyoro’s history.

fmugerwa@ug.nationmedia.com