Dr Kyazze savours book writing

He, however, says that the 32-year journey of his service at UNESCO is one that had its own twists and turns moving from one country to another, mostly on the African continent.

Kyazze says that opting for an international job after pursuing his undergraduate programme at Makerere University was a decision he made upon realising that his family was time and again involved in Uganda’s politics, something he thought would endanger his life.

“My family through the Kabaka Yeka party was very much involved in Uganda’s politics. So I decided to opt for an international job since it would have been risky for me to stay and work within Uganda. So I applied for a job at UNESCO--coordinator of operations activities for Africa, a job I was given. So I was a young recruit for the organization,” Kyazze shares.

Planning for retirement After being recruited by UNESCO in 1972, Kyazze says he immediately started planning for his retirement life.
One of the things he says he did when planning for his retirement was buying a plot of land in Bukoto where he erected an apartment for renting.
He also says that he managed to set up two other extra houses in Munyonyo and Busabala.

“Planning for retirement is something that I endeavoured to do right from the start. I managed to buy for myself a plot of land in Bukoto, Munyonyo and Busabala. I set up apartments on all these plots of land,” he says.

Kyazze also joined social clubs such as rotary international club and learnt how to play golf hoping that these two would keep him engaged during his retirement days.

“I knew my retirement days would come at some point. So I had to think of activities that would keep me busy. Of course I didn’t think of some of things I am currently doing in retirement today. I only thought of activities like authorship after I had retired,” he says. Kyazze adds that one of the other things he knew would keep him busy during his retirement days was engagement in the day-to- day affairs of Buganda Kingdom.

“When I was working as a UNESCO ambassador to United Nations, the Kabaka, Ronald Muwenda Mutebi, called me on several occasions asking me when I would return to Uganda. So I knew that Buganda Kingdom affairs were going to keep me busy during retirement days,” he says.

Activities
Some of the activities that keep Dr Kyazze busy include administrative work with Buganda Kingdom, rotary activities, book authoring and family.
“The moment I returned to Uganda after retiring, the Kabaka appointed me as a minister for culture and I have served for seven years. I have also managed to author a book titled Thirty-Six years later, a book that tells a story of two teenagers who fell in love and later went different paths only to meet again 36 years later,” Kyazze says.

Kyazze adds that unlike in the past, today he has more time for his family.

His day
On a normal day, Dr Kyazze wakes up at 6am for a routine exercise which starts 20 minutes later.
This he says lasts for an hour after which he takes a shower and goes for breakfast.

He says breakfast time is when he plans for activities he would engage himself in during the day with one of his nephews then have lunch between 1 and 1:30pm and takes a nap. He occasionally visits old pals for a cup of coffee.

Challenges
Dr Kyazze says his greatest challenge is the extra demands he faces from some relatives and friends. “Everybody assumes that since you have been working with UN then you have a lot of money to give, which may not be true. So this has been a big challenge during my retirement years,” he says.