Muhammad Ssegirinya's last words before death

The Kawempe North Member of Parliament, who passed away yesterday at Lubaga Hospital in Kampala, last spoke to his relatives five days ago.

Sources at the facility said Muhammad Ssegirinya’s final words were focused on the welfare of his children and constituents. 

Ssegirinya’s personal assistant Alex Luwembo, mother, and other family members, who stayed by his bedside at the hospital, said Ssegirinya last spoke to them last week before he slipped into what many have described as a coma. 

Mr Luwembo said Ssegirinya had many concerns, but his love for his children and constituents dominated his final words. 

One of his major requests was for his manifesto, which had not been fully implemented, to be upheld by whoever would take over his parliamentary seat. 

Ssegirinya also reportedly expressed concern about how his children would manage their education, given that all his savings had been spent on his treatment. 

“I last spoke to Ssegirinya a week ago, before he became weak. He indicated he had the people of Kawempe North at heart. He mentioned his five-year manifesto, whose implementation he was unable to complete. He asked us to take it forward,” Mr Luwembo said. 

He added: “He also raised concerns about how his children would go back to school as all his savings had been spent on hospital bills that Parliament Insurance could not cover.”

Monitor was unable to reach out to Ssegirinya’s mother, who was whisked away into an ambulance at the mortuary. 

Mr Luwembo said Ssegirinya’s top priorities were the construction of a health centre in his constituency, sending underprivileged children to school, and providing start-up capital to struggling small businesses, particularly those owned by women in the area, among others. 

Although Ssegirinya had established the hospital, along with two ambulances, the facility was shut in 2021 following his arrest. The equipment was also redistributed to other medical facilities as the hospital could not continue operating without sufficient funding. 

Ssegirinya was pronounced dead yesterday by the hospital administrators at 12.30pm after two hours of confusion surrounding his health condition. 

He was declared brain dead at 8am by several politicians from the National Unity Platform (NUP) party. But doctors at the hospital clarified that while his brain and other vital organs had ceased functioning, he had not officially been pronounced dead as his heartline had not yet flattened. 

Politicians, including Kampala City Mayor Erias Lukwago, and Leader of Opposition in Parliament Joel Ssenyonyi, had rushed to the facility, left after hearing the contrary news.

But two hours later, the hospital officially announced Ssegirinya’s death in a statement. 

A statement from the health facility read: “Ssegirinya has been under the dedicated care of our medical team at Lubaga Hospital. Despite all efforts to ensure his recovery, he passed away today [Thursday]… at 12:10pm.” 

Before his death, Ssegirinya had been bedridden in hospitals in Uganda, Kenya, and the Netherlands following his release from prison, where he had been held with his Makindye West counterpart. 

Last year, Ssegirinya spent more than three months at Nsambya Hospital before being flown to Nairobi in Kenya, The Netherlands and returned to Lubaga Hospital last week. 

Ssegirinya’s lawyer, Mr Samuel Muyizzi Mulindwa, told Monitor in an interview that the legislator’s health had worsened after he was granted bail and had never improved. 

He said they were in the process of requesting the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to withdraw charges against Ssegirinya due to his deteriorating health, “pending the medical report from Lubaga Hospital” . 

Ssegirinya and Makindye West MP Allan Ssewanyana were arrested in September 2021 in connection with machete killings in the Greater Masaka region. They were granted bail on September 21, 2021, only to be rearrested shortly after on the outskirts of Kigo Prison. 

Fresh murder charges were then labelled against them, stemming from the machete killings in Lwengo District, where more than 20 people were killed. 

MPs Ssegirinya and Ssewanyana spent one-and-half years on remand but were granted bail in 2023.

But Ssegirinya remained in and out of the hospital until he breathed his last yesterday at Lubaga Hospital.

Burial arrangements 

Jan. 9: Ssegirinya passed away.

Jan. 9: The body was taken for a vigil at the National Unity Platform (NUP) offices.

Today

9am: The body will be taken to Parliament. In the afternoon: The body will be taken to Mbogo Mosque for prayers. Thereafter, the body will be taken to his home in Kasangati, Wakiso District, where it will spend the night.

Tomorrow (Jan. 11):

The body will be taken to Masaka, his ancestral home, for a vigil.

Sunday, January 12:

The body will be buried in Butale Cell, Matanga Ward, Nyendo –Mukungwe Municipality in Masaka City.