Paying tribute  to those we  lost in 2021

Rest in eternity. As we usher in 2022, we cannot forget the souls that we lost last year. The grim reaper took the form of Covid-19 and sudden death.  Let’s pay tribute to people 2021 robbed from us, as Phionah Nassanga writes. 

Archbishop Cyprian Kizito  Lwanga
Archbishop Lwanga was appointed the third Archbishop of Kampala on August 19, 2006, and was installed on September 30, 2006 at Rubaga Cathedral, succeeding Cardinal Emmanuel Wamala. Outspoken as he was, Lwanga expressed fear for his life.  In 2018, he charged that the government had recruited priests and nuns to spy on him. The archbishop said a caller had told him that the government thought he wanted to overthrow it. 
On April 2, 2021 he joined other Christian leaders in the way of the Cross procession that started at  Namirembe Cathedral. A day later, he was found dead in his room.  His remains were interred in Rubaga Cathedral.

Archbishop Jonah Lwanga
He was the second metropolitan of the Orthodox Church in Uganda. Also referred to as Metropolitan Jonah Lwanga, he served as Archbishop of Kampala and Exarch of the Uganda Orthodox Church. He died of prostate cancer. 
He co-founded the Inter Religious Council of Uganda in 2002.  At the time of his death, Lwanga was a member, Council of Presidents, a position he had held since the time of the body’s inception.
He defended faith, challenged the state irrespective of the outcome, as long as it ensured rights and wellbeing of Ugandans. Lwanga, died on   September 5, 2021 while in Greece and was laid to rest at St Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral in Kampala. 

Bishop John Baptist Kaggwa
As a  leader, Bishop Kaggwa took part in a number of projects. It is said he was behind the establishment of the Centenary Bank branches in Lyantonde and Sembabule districts. He was chairman of vocations in Episcopal Conference and was behind the elevation of the Munyonyo shrines. He was also part of Masaka Catholic Diocese Teachers Association (MACADITA). 
 In June 2020, he asked the Ugandan government to consider postponing the 2021 Ugandan general election because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The prelate died on January 20, 2021 and the Masaka Catholic Diocesan Chancellor, Fr Edward Ssekabanja, confirmed that Bishop John Baptist Kaggwa had died of Covid-19. 
To many, he embraced humanity and taught many to live with love and dignity.His remains were laid to rest in the priest’s chapel in Bukalasa cemetery, Masaka District.

Maj  Gen  Paul Lokech
Maj Gen Paul Lokech was described as daring and brave.  During his first tour of duty in Somalia as the contingent commander of Ugandan troops from 2011 to 2012, he earned the name ‘Lion of Mogadishu’. 
He died on 21 August after eight months as deputy Inspector General of Police (DIGP). Medical reports said he died of a blood clot after sustaining an injury while at his home. Lokech was buried in Pader District on August 27, and is survived by a wife and five children.

 Joanna Namutebi Wabwire
Barely a week after her wedding, Joanna Namutebi Wabwire died.  The daughter of Gayaza High School headmistress Robina Kizito got married to her fiancé Derrick Wabwire in a beautiful ceremony at All Saints Cathedral on Friday December 10, and later had their reception at Sheraton Hotel, Kampala. Unbeknownst to them, their wedding night would be the last time the bride would be in good health.
According to CID Spokesperson Charles Twiine during a press briefing at Naguru headquarters, the couple spent their wedding night at Sheraton hotel in preparation for their honeymoon. However, the next day (on Saturday), the couple chose to first go to the Women’s hospital in Bukoto for a family planning injection. Police say the medical personnel checked Namutebi and found her uterus in the wrong position.
“The doctors advised her to take some water, to which she obliged. Thereafter, they inserted an IUD coil. After the procedure, she started feeling pain in the stomach, developed a strong headache and fainted while in the hospital,” Mr Twiine said.
He said they have learnt that the victim was in her menstrual cycle when the IUD was inserted.  “Our medical investigators tell us that it isn’t allowed to insert an IUD when the woman is in her menstrual cycle...,” he said. Namutebi passed away  on December 17,2021.

 Felix Basiime 
Felix Basiime served as Monitor Publications Ltd’s bureau chief in Mbarara and Fort Portal and his reporting primarily focused on environmental issues and tourism, with an emphasis on oil, gas, and other extractive industries. Basiime won multiple awards and his reporting was recognised by National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO). 
He nurtured many young journalists, especially in western Uganda. On June 18, he died of Covid-19 and was laid to rest at his home in Kakoba, Mbarara District .

Jolly Lutaaya 
From building a church in his village to circumventing state watch, alongside peers, to secretly import equipment and establish Central Broadcasting Service (CBS) radio, Lutaaya crafted a higher league and purpose for himself. 
Despite orbiting among Uganda’s wealthiest, one mollifying value never deserted him, humility. He was a former Buganda Kingdom local government and cooperatives minister, the vice chair of the Rehabilitation Committee of Kasubi Tombs, a world heritage site. 
He was also one of first ministers at the time of the restoration of the kingdom in 1993. He died on December 14, and he is survived by 17 children and three widows.

Gideon Badagawa
Gideon Badagawa, executive director of Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU), succumbed to coronavirus on the morning of June 21 at Mulago Hospital. Badagawa worked at PSFU for 19 years and 11 of those he served as its executive director. He served there until his demise. 
He is credited with institutionalising partnerships with Uganda’s development partners such as African Development Bank, World Bank, European Union, DFID,  and MasterCard Foundation.  Badagawa was described as a champion and pillar of the private sector who always exuded a calm demeanor even when valiantly standing up for and speaking for the private sector. He always made the case for providing incentives for SMEs, lower tax rates, skilling youth and heralding the private sector as the vanguard of Uganda’s economic growth. 
He was his usual vocal self when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out resulting in lockdowns that crippled businesses countrywide. In October 2020, he took part in a drive on the streets of Kampala dubbed ‘Tugobe Corona: Wear A Mask’ with other PSFU partners.  
He died a few days after the second total lockdown in Uganda. 

JB Ssenkubuge 
JB Ssenkubuge, fondly known as JB was a photographer at Monitor Publications Limited with a special interest in motorsport. JB is said to have blacked out in his car following a hypertension attack, he was rushed to Mengo Hospital, but died on  May 28, in less than 24 hours after an emergency surgery. Ssenkubuge was buried in Busukuma in Wakiso District.

Musa Katongole 
Katongole was the former chairman of the now defunct Uganda Taxi Owners and Driver’s Association (UTODA). After the collapse of Utoda, Katongole teamed up with others to start Awakula Ennume Transport services to continue with the transport business operating a fleet of buses. Katongole was sick and had been admitted to TMR Hospital in Naalya, for several days before his death. It was said he had spent days on life support and had heart complications he had battled in the last few years.

Bulaimu Muwanga Kibirige 
Known as BMK, Kibirige was the proprietor of Hotel Africana. BMK owned several businesses, most notably Hotel Africana, which made him a household name. BMK is reported to have died from complications related to cancer, which he had battled for the last four years. He was buried on September 15, 2021.

 Rev Fr Edward Ssonko 
 A teacher of Latin at Kisubi Seminary, Fr Ssonko was an ardent classical musician and he was one of the longest serving staff members. With a doctorate in Latin, he was also the head of the examining body of Latin in Uganda.  He breathed his last on January 23, at Kisubi Hospital shortly after being admitted.  He is said to have lost his battle to Covid-19. 

Bishop Emeritus Ntegyerize
Bishop John Wilson Ntegyerize was the archdeacon of Nyakatare Archdeaconry until 1994 when the synod meeting sat at Kinyasano Hill in Rukungiri and resolved to create Kinkiizi as a new diocese from North Kigezi diocese and eventually chosen to be the first bishop.  
He was enthroned on May 7, 1995  where he served until he retired. His health deteriorated and he was rushed to Bwindi Community Hospital where he breathed his last on May 6. 

Rt Rev Benon Magezi
Rt Rev Benon Magezi was the Bishop of North Kigezi Diocese. Bishop Magezi died on June 15, after a short illness. Magezi was consecrated and enthroned as bishop on January 8, 2017 at Emmanuel Cathedral, Kinyasano, Rukungiri. He had recently launched a major fundraising campaign to expand the cathedral and the church’s ministry. 

Namasole Nagawa Siwoza 
Namasole Margaret Nagawa Siwoza , mother of the Kabaka,  died on  December 1, and her death  was confirmed by Katikkiro Charles Peter Mayiga. She first received medical attention at Mulago  hospital before being admitted to Nairobi hospital. 
She died at Nairobi Hospital where she had been admitted following a stroke. Namasole had been bedridden for over a year after suffering a stroke. 

Dr John Baptist Mukasa
Dr John Baptist Mukasa, 54, one of the few neurosurgeons in the country,  who declined lucrative opportunities to work overseas, dedicating himself to training a new generation and going the ‘extra mile’ for patients. 
Mukasa worked primarily at Mulago National Referral hospital in Kampala, and was a senior lecturer at Makerere University. He specialised in neurotrauma, paediatric neurosurgery and epilepsy. He died of Covid-19 on June 29. He is survived by a wife and two children.

Everest Kayondo
He was a teacher-turned businessman and was chairman of St Henry’s College Kitovu Parents’ Teachers Association (PTA). He was also the proprietor of Everbased Tours and Travel Ltd. Kayondo, was a firm advocate of traders’ rights, together with other business personalities who transformed KACITA into one of the formidable workers’ union. 
Kayondo represented the business community on many fora and advocacy debates that involved ministers of finance and trade, and bank executives. Traders hailed him for getting politics out of the traders’ issues, which has helped the community realise achievements.  
He  died on June 23, 2021 at Lifeline International Hospital in Zana, where he had been admitted, with Covid-19 symptoms.

Sammy Kasule
Mopepe. That is what Kenyans called Sammy Kasule – a man of air. They said he was Uganda’s only musician. Kasule’s hidden intricacies in playing a six-string guitar earned him attention and admiration.
 Kasule was one of the backbones of Uganda’s music, but lived a quiet life in Stockholm, Sweden where he had been leading Makonde band with Swedish musicians and another Ugandan, Gerald Naddibanga. 
Kasule breathed his last in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, where he had been admitted to hospital as an emergency during a stopover en route to Sweden on April 27.

 Mathias  Kasamba 
 Mathias Kasamba, was the director of mobilisation and cadre identification at the National Resistance Movement.  
He also doubled as a Member of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), and former legislator for Kakuuto County who served in the 9th Parliament from 2001 to 2016. He died on  April 27, 2021 at Nakasero Hospital.