Muzoora’s death puts two on the spot

Who is Mr William Mukaira?
When security personnel approached William Mukaira’s residence and informed him of their intention to arrest him, he obliged without any resistance. Mukaira told them that he wanted his family members to see the people who were taking him. He called his two sons who witnessed his arrest. According to his wife, Ms Joy, she knew about the arrest after he was taken. She called one of her sons to follow them up to Mbarara District. The family members are in contact with him.

Born in 1930, Mr William Mukaira attended Bweranyangi Junior School, Canon Apolo Teachers College and Kakoba Primary Teachers College (currently Bishop Stuart University). He is the current FDC chairman for Bushenyi District. Currently, Mukaira is admitted to Mulago Hospital but his wife said he is slow at responding to treatment. She said he has been stopped from taking solid foods but takes fluids.

According to Ms Mukaira, her husband has been arrested once over political related cases.
Ms Mukaira said she was bitter with press reports that she was also arrested. She said she had been at her home and nobody had bothered to come to ask her about her husband’s arrest. “I am not happy with the press reports that I was arrested. I have been here and I don’t intend to go in hiding because I am not involved. I pray that this wind calms down soon,” Ms Mukaira said.

Mukaira has been in politics for most of his life. In 1966, he was appointed Minister for Education in the former Ankole kingdom, a position he held for a year. He is also the former Bushenyi Democratic Party chairman, a party he joined after having disagreements with Uganda Peoples Congress.

In 1987, Mukaira was elected the chairman of Bushenyi, a position he held for a year. In 1998, Mukaira ventured into education when he started Valley College, making him popular in the district. The school, which began with only a Senior Five class, with 32 students, has expanded to O and A-level with an enrollment of 1,200 students.

A teacher by profession, Mukaira told Saturday Monitor in 2008 that he started the school because he believed private schools could perform better than government-owned. He also wanted to improve education standards in the district and create employment.

In 2005, after the formation of FDC party, Mukaira joined and became the district chairman. At first, he was viewed as a spy in the party since his young brother, the late Ezra Kikuri (former Presidential advisor) was a movement diehard, but FDC was later proved wrong. He also owns a winery under the brand name of Bushenyi Wines which is sold locally.

Who is Dr Aggrey Byamaka?

Dr Aggrey Byamaka was arrested on Thursday, last week in connection with the death of late Col. Edison Muzoora and taken to Kampala on the same day at 5pm after being detained at Second Division Army Barracks in Mbarara by military intelligence for four hours.

His wife, Doreen, has since tried to get in touch with him for more than a week but all efforts have been futile. “I last saw him on Thursday. I have been in Kampala trying to find out where he is being detained but I have failed,” she told this paper on Wednesday.

Ms Byamaka said she has been to Kibuli several times and talked to some CIDs but she is yet to see him. “I can’t rest, I can’t settle. Wherever he is rumoured to be detained, I try to connect there but I have not succeeded. We don’t know whether he is dead or alive,” she said.

However, Dr Byamaka is not new to arrests. In 2003, he was arrested on allegations of supplying drugs to rebels based in eastern DR Congo who were fighting the Ugandan government but was later released.
Ms Byamaka said she brought lunch and clothes to her husband at Second Division barracks on the day he was transferred. “We are puzzled about what to do next, we plan to engage lawyers but don’t know if it will work,” she said.

The military insist they handed over Dr Byamaka to police but they later denied knowing his whereabouts. His family members said on Wednesday that they had not seen him since he was arrested from his workplace in Mbarara Town last Thursday.

Dr Byamaka has had a remarkable career journey. Born in Kabale District 51 years ago, Byamaka is a professional pharmacist. He has been in private practice but also worked at Fort portal Referral Hospital in Kabarole District. He operated a pharmacy called Byamaka Pharmaceuticals Ltd, on Laggard Road South Division in Fort Portal Municipality in 2007.

The doctor was dealing in wholesale and retail pharmacy. He is currently operating Byamaka Pharmaceuticals Ltd on Buremba Road Kakoba Division, Mbarara Municipality. The cool and less talkative doctor is rarely in public places. He spends most of his time in a private room at his pharmacy attending to patients and reading. He has interest in HIV/Aids medicines and treatment. He is also the proprietor of Hotel Serene and Serene Health Club and constructing another hotel in Nkokonjeru, Kamukuzi Division Mbarara Municipality. Close associates say Byamaka worked in Rwanda in pharmacy-related business.