Ex-BoU governor Mutebile takes final journey home

Preparations to lay to rest the body of former Bank of Uganda governor Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile were in high gear yesterday ahead of the burial expected today.

Roads leading to his country home are being worked on, with burial arrangements in advanced stages and entry to his residence in Katojo Cell, Kijuguta Parish, Northern Division, Kabale Municipality was restricted to the media on Saturday morning as security personnel allowed only relatives to enter.

The Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) and police officers that manned the main gate told Sunday Monitor that they were under strict directives not to allow media personalities access to the home.

All the three access roads were by Saturday morning being paved and levelled under tight security of UPDF and police officers.

But business in Kabale Town and specifically in Katoja Cell, Kijuguta Parish in Northern Division of Kabale Municipality looked normal.

“We were saddened by the death of Prof Mutebile because he was a good neighbour. Just saying you are going to Kijuguta, boda boda operators would quickly ask you if your place of residence is near Prof Mutebile’s home,” Ms Geradaine Mwetise said.

Maj Gen Timothy Sabiiti Mutebile, the brother of the deceased, did not comment on why the media was being restricted.

 “The body is expected to arrive here today (Saturday) at 4pm in a helicopter from Kampala and later be taken to his home for prayers and spend a night there. Then on Sunday the burial service shall be held at Kigezi High School lower playground and after the body will be taken back home for burial,” Maj Gen Mutebile said.

He said Kigezi Diocese Bishop George Bagamuhunda will preside over the burial ceremony.

“The Vice President, Ms Jessica Alupo, will be visiting us on Saturday evening. I am not sure if she will remain here for burial service on Sunday,” Gen Sabiiti Mutebile said.

  The chairman for Northern Division in Kabale Municipality, Mr Isaac Rushoga, named the roads being paved and levelled as Mutebile Road, off Kabale-Kisoro road, Kakira-Katojo road and Hornby-Kirwa road.

“I am grateful to Kabale District Local Government and the Uganda National Roads Authority for paving these roads,” Mr Rushoga said.

He said the late governor had supported several community projects in his division through financial support to education institutions and churches.

The mayor of Kabale Municipality, Mr Sentaro Byamugisha, said the death of Prof Mutebile is a big loss in the area because he was always supportive to any proposal aimed at causing development in the area.

The body of former Bank of Uganda governor will be laid to rest this afternoon at his home in Omuruhita on the Kabale- Kisoro road.

The funeral budget has been estimated at Shs400 million.

Mutebile, 72, who was at the helm of Uganda’s Central Bank for two decades, died on January 23, four days shy of his 73rd birthday.

His personal doctor, Mr Ben Mbonye, said he succumbed to multiple organ failure accelerated by Covid-19.

He had for long battled diabetes and hypertension, which damaged his kidneys and nervous system. He was evacuated from Nakasero Hospital to the Aga Khan Hospital, Nairobi in Kenya when his health worsened due to the infection.

 “By the time of his death, he had not yet turned negative [for Covid]. The main problem that he had was within his lungs. He had extensive pneumonia that had been a result of that bacterial infection, meaning it is possible Covid could have had a contribution…He died due to multiple organ failure but his lungs were badly damaged,” Dr Mboye said

Eulogies

President Museveni, family and friends during a special funeral service held at the Kololo Ceremonial Grounds on Friday, eulogised the seasoned economist as a dedicated and patriotic servant who gave his all in service of his country.

Museveni applauded Mutebile for his contribution to not just the revival but also to the transformation of the economy since 1986.

“I am here to salute the contribution of Mutebile as a person. He was a very dedicated servant and you could see it. If you wanted a paper, he would prepare it and in two days it would be there. It is that dedication that we should emulate. I salute him for his contribution,” the President said.

He added: “The contribution of Mutebile was in three key areas; controlling liquidity to control inflation, the currency reform, and the privatisation.”

 Mr Museveni said he had maintained Mutebile as governor for 21 years because of his sound ideas on the economy which, along with those of other economists like Ezra Suruma, aided him in making key decisions about the economy.

“Betty [Mutebile] was thanking me for keeping Mutebile for a long time as governor of Bank of Uganda. I liked that civil war of ideas while Mutebile group supported the idea of privatisation, Suruma [Ezra]  also had his idea. Than having one-sided way of thinking...,” he said.

The President said at that time government owned buses and hotels. He added that Mutebile’s group advised the government to privatise them and it stimulated the economy.

Mr Museveni, however, said he regretted the privatisation of Uganda Commercial Bank, saying interest rates have remained high.

Mutebile served in different capacities including as chief government planning economist and as secretary to the Treasury from 1992 to 2001, whose technical leadership was crucial in instituting sound budget management during the 1990s.

He has been credited for policies and interventions that have enabled economic progress and maintenance of macroeconomic stability.

He will also be remembered for taking a firm stance on policies he believed to work for the transformation of the economy, even if it meant disagreeing with his appointing authority.

Ms Betty Mutebile, reminisced about the couple’s more than 40 years of marriage, describing her husband as reserved, loving and one with a special dedication to his job.

“We have lived together for half our lives and that is the only life I know. On weekends, he always wanted us to wear similar attires. Every time I made an outfit [for myself] I had to make a [matching] shirt for him. I don’t even know what I’m going to do with all those shirts,” she said.

She added: “Emmanuel loved his job. He served diligently. He did not think about doing any business from his job… we thank God for enabling him to serve our nation, our family and all the people who touched him.”

Former premier and childhood friend of the deceased, Amama Mbabazi, dismissed allegations about the giveaway of the governor’s official residence to the Mutebile family.

Mr Mbabazi said Mutebile wanted to buy the residence following government’s privatisation of accommodation.

“It is false and I condemn those who are making these false allegations…Most people know that government privatised accommodation and the sitting tenants were given priority to buy. So the question was can Mutebile buy this house and that started a long time go by Mutebile himself, not Betty,” he said

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, applauded Mutebile for his contribution to regional development

“Prof Mutebile was a man with a unique blend of wisdom and compassion…for over 40 years, he served his country, the region and the global community. He has tremendously contributed to the growth of Uganda, the East African Community and Africa,” President Kenyatta’s message read.

Mr Matia Kasaija, the Finance minister, said: “God has taken Mutebile at a time when he and I were trying to ensure the economy begins to go the way I once showed you in Parliament [improve steadily].”

The event was attended by multiple dignitaries including the governor of Central Bank of Kenya, governor of Central Bank of South Sudan, former premier Ruhakana Rugunda, and Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo.

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