I survived the Nakasero death camp, says Kawalya

Born of the late Dr Erisa Musoke Kalibbala in Kyebando a suburb of Kampala, I grew up in Kiwenda and went to Bugema Seventh Day Adventist Primary School. From Bugema, I joined Mengo Central (Now Mengo Secondary School) in 1959 for my junior education, completing it in 1960. For the two years I was in Mengo, I was walking from Kyebando to Mengo every day.

From Mengo, I joined Old Kampala Indian Government Secondary School, now Old Kampala SS, in 1961 where I stayed until 1966 and joined Makerere University to do Bachelor of Commerce. To increase my employment chances before graduating, I registered for a correspondence diploma course in marketing and sales administration from Cyprus which I completed in 1968.

While at Makerere, I got a job with Agricultural Enterprise, then a subsidiary of UDC (Uganda Development Corporation). Agricultural Enterprise was dealing mainly in tea, cocoa and vanilla and I was working as the produce manager.

When I left Makerere, UDC sent me to Kericho in Kenya for further training in tea production and manufacturing. From Kericho, I went to Mombasa at the African Tea Brokers, to train in tea testing and valuing. From Mombasa, I attended more training in tea tasting and valuation in UK and India were I trained further in tea production and manufacturing, making me the second qualified tea tester in Uganda.

By the time I joined UDC, it was like a government of its own in certain ways. It had the right to borrow money from international financial institutions independently. The company picked me from Makerere before I graduated and I was availed with a car, a fully furnished house with a guard and a house-help.

When Idi Amin took over power in 1971, I was still in India but before I could complete the training, I was called back in 1974. By that time, Amin had expelled Asians and Whites alike, creating a vacuum of manpower in a number of sectors. I was asked to come back and fill the gap left by a White, who had been the sales manager at the Agriculture Enterprises.
The year I returned home, president Amin created the Uganda Tea Authority by decree, and placed it under the Ministry of Agriculture. With the new authority created, I was made the second in command, next to Frederick Luswata, who was the general manager. I was also the head of produce and marketing department.

Having worked with the tea authority for six years, I decided in 1980 to retire to private business. Unfortunately, my request to the Ministry of Agriculture to let me go was rejected. I decided to move to the ministry of Finance as the personnel assistant to junior minister Lawrence Sebalu.

The chance to retire came late that year as the country geared towards elections. Chairman of the Military Commission Paulo Muwanga made an announcement, saying all civil servants intending to participate in the general elections should resign from civil service. I used that opportunity to leave civil service, not to join politics, but to go into private practice.

Soon after resigning, I opened my company Hoppers Tea and General Merchants. I became the leading private tea exporter in Uganda, at the same time representing the Mombasa-based tea brokers in Uganda.

Working under Amin
Life during Amin’s reign was not easy, while many people resorted to going into exile, many also stayed behind. For a good number of those who stayed, the price of staying was their lives. I chose to stay than going into exile despite spending a week in Nakasero. I did not want to leave my parents behind and at the same time I did not know where I was to take my family, into the unknown life of exile.

In 1977, I was arrested and taken to Nakasero (State Research Bureau headquarters) where I was kept for a full week. I was accused of collaborating with tea brokers in Mombasa to sabotage the sale of Ugandan tea, and devaluing Ugandan tea so that that the government loses revenue.

True, by the time of my arrest the value of Ugandan tea had gone down due to the fact that the tea quality had drastically gone down. When Amin expelled the Asians, who owned majority of the tea plantations, and turned them into government properties, this affected the morale of the workers.

Many of them fled from the plantations to go and do other things. Most of them joined the mafuta mingi business; leaving the plantations unattended to and the few who stayed could not keep the standards of the plantations. The poor state of the plantations affected the quality of the produce which in the end affected the price on the world market. But Amin and his government did not realise this. They blamed it on me who was the chief government tea tester.
The week I stayed in Nakasero seemed like eternity. I was with about 80 other people in a cell which seemed to have been made for not more than 20 people. We had a bucket with a pipe connected to it which worked as our toilet. When it came to food, the soldiers just poured it on the floor which also doubled as a sleeping area. Often different names were called out and the people called were never seen again.

Soon after them leaving the cell, we could hear screams and cries as they were being beaten to death. When my name was called out the day I was released, I thought my turn to meet my creator had come. But thanks to Col Garadi, then minister of Agriculture, when he learnt of my arrest he looked for me and made sure I was released.

Serving in Mengo government
In 2000, the Kabaka of Buganda, High Highness Ronald Mutebi, appointed me to serve as his minster of health. By that time immunisation coverage in Buganda was at 15 per cent. In 2003, the Kabaka called on parents in Buganda to have all their children immunised. By the time I left the health docket, the immunisation coverage stood at 95 per cent. Last year, I was appointed the speaker of the Lukiiko were I’m currently serving.

Church and education service
Besides my Rotary and kingdom responsibilities, I have served and still serve in different capacities in the Church of Uganda and in the education sector. In education, I’ m a trustee of the Kampala School for the Physically Handicapped, serving on the boards of Buddo Junior School and Mengo SS, while in church I’m a member of the province assembly of the province of the Church of Uganda, which is the law making body of the church. That aside, I have served the church as head of the laity in Namirembe Diocese and head of the diocese’s health committee.

Best and worst moments
One of the best moments of my life is a sequence of birth in my family, my father was born September 27, 1896, I was born September 27 and my first son was born on September 27.

Another memorable highlight of my life was in 1988 when I went to London with my father. At the immigration point when the officer looked at my father’s date of birth in the passport, he just let us go through. During that trip, we went to Buckingham Palace.

When we got there, it was time for the change of guard and my father, in his Kanzu, stood out in the crowd. We were lucky that the Queen had come out to wave to the crowd and one of the guards came out to ask who the old man in the Tunic was, and I said he is a chief from Uganda. To me that was a very proud moment.
Much as I have proud moments, the day the Kabaka was stopped from going to Kayunga District in 2009 was the saddest day in my life.

LIFE IN ROTARY

I first got into contact with Rotary in 1980 with the Rotary Club of Kampala West, though I never became active until 1986 when the Rotary Club of Rubaga was created, where I am a charter member.

It was in 1987-88 when District Governor Sam Owor challenged us to expand Rotary in Uganda that I embarked on the creation of the Rotary Club of Mengo. That very year, the club was charted with me as the charter president.

From the moment I was a president, I went on to take on other responsibilities in Rotary until 1997-98 when I was made the District Governor for district 9200, covering Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Eretria. Somalia was a member but the political turmoil and the subsequent insecurity in that country made the running of Rotary activities impossible up to date.

I was one of the members on the African committee of polio plus which campaigned for a polio free Africa. I traversed almost every African country to start a campaign against polio. I believe we managed to achieve good results with the exception of Nigeria, were up to now there are still outbreaks of Polio.