Muhumuza lived and breathed journalism

When Edward Muhumuza wrote in a December 12, 2022 Twitter post that “.... Sometimes it’s not about how careful we are on the road. We just can’t avoid it. We gotta be prepared even if it’s to die”, little did he know that three months later he would die in an automobile accident.
Born on July 7, 1988, Muhumuza was the third of Twaha Masumbuko and Masitula Kyomugisha’s eight children. He attended Kibuye Primary School Kyegegwa before joining Wekomiire and Mubende Army Secondary Schools for his Ordinary and Advanced levels of education, respectively.
He would later join UMCAT School of Journalism and Mass Communication where he graduated with a Diploma in 2013. At the time of his death, he had enrolled at Nkumba University to pursue a degree in journalism and public relations.
As per his mother, Muhumuza “exhibited a high level of seriousness and loved asking so many questions about everything” during his early childhood. 
When he started formal education, the line of questioning found another gear. Muhumuza had already started displaying skills that would bode well for him during his professional career as a journalist.
Starting out
Having developed a passion for journalism at a younger age, after high school, time was ripe for Muhumuza to take a step closer to his dream. He had already made up his mind about studying journalism. The unanswered question was: where? Ms Kyomugisha revealed that her son harboured hopes of joining Makerere University, but their family couldn’t afford the expenses. The next best option was UMCAT where he enrolled in April 2011.
Passionate and wet behind the ears, Muhumuza started acquiring professional knowledge about the profession he had long yearned to practice. The Observer Newspaper’s Yudaya Nangozi, who studied with Muhumuza at UMCAT reminisces about their time in class.
“He was very ambitious and knew exactly what he wanted to do. Unlike many of us that were open to finding out what we could do best in journalism, Edward was particular from the start. All he wanted was broadcast journalism,” she said.
Antonio Kisembo, one of his lecturers, however, remembers Muhumuza’s willingness to learn other areas of journalism.
A fan of legendary newsman Baale Francis, who also doubled as his lecturer at UMCAT, Muhumuza’s first attempt at reporting and news anchoring came in 2012 during the Baale Francis News Anchoring competition at the Media Challenge. Mr Ivan Kimuli Kigozi, a former NTV reporter and one of the initiators of the Media Challenge, says Muhumuza did well at both tasks. His reporting skills particularly stood out.
“Since his school days, Muhumuza has been very ambitious and could do all it takes to get what he wants. The same energy pushed him to try out opportunities at various media houses even while still in school,” Mr Kimuli said.
Decade-long career
Muhumuza honed his journalistic skills at Vision Group, having joined in 2013 after short stints at the national broadcaster (UBC) among other media houses. He started out as a TV journalist on Urban Television. By the time of his departure, he had also started writing political stories in the New Vision newspaper.
Muhumuza eventually ended up at NTV Uganda. He joined as a reporter in August 2019 and soon made an impression on Mr Williams Kato, the assignments editor at NTV. Multilingual, he had started voicing stories in Luganda at the station. He had also developed a passion for reporting on oil and gas. In fact, he just returned from an assignment from the Albertine Graben hours before his death.
His legacy
In the newsroom, Muhumuza always pushed himself to do better.  Mr Sudhir Byaruhaga, his colleague at NTV, described the deceased as a promising and focused reporter.
Muhumuza also fiercely spoke truth to power. In one of the viral videos of his reports, he is seen and heard pressing Maj Gen Kahinda Otafiire—the Internal Affairs minister—on the many constituencies and administrative units created by the government that have since resulted in wastage of funds and resources.
He read voraciously, consuming everything he could on the subjects he loved to ensure his work was as nuanced, insightful and well informed. He was adamant that his reporting needed to be as close to the ground as possible.
“In this era of ‘theatrical’ journalism, Edward had fast-become one of my favs. He had mastered how to stay out of the story. Ever so subtle, even during the piece to camera. You enjoyed the news without feeling like the journo was scrambling for attention with sources,” journalist Caroline Ariba said.
Journalists strive to produce stories of impact and value day after day. Not many get the chance to be feted. Not Muhumuza. His moment in the sun arrived last year when he scooped the coveted Land and Property Rights Award at the National Journalism Awards held by African Centre for Media excellence.
Returning to school
Ten years later after acquiring his Diploma in Journalism, Muhumuza’s dream for a degree in the same was still alive and therefore embarked on the journey.
Nkumba University was his home of study and his final destination on the fateful Saturday morning that he lost his life. His lecturer Ms Gorreti Kyeswa, who was distraught upon the news of her student’s death, says Muhumuza had only joined Nkumba barely a month in the February intake.
Ms Kyeswa, who taught Muhumuza Theories of Mass Communication, Public Relations Tools and Techniques and Media Management, says he loved the latter course unit because it related more with his day-to-day journalistic works.
“He was a typically practical student who related almost everything in class to field execution. He was always attentive and paid attention to every detail,” she told Sunday Monitor.
Great servant of God
Born into a Muslim family with the name Muhammad, Muhumuza would later convert to Christianity at the age of 18. He found belonging in the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) faith. He prayed at the Kampala Central Church and belonged to the Levi family of the church.
He served the church as Head of Communication. The church fondly remembers him during the Covid-19 pandemic days where he deployed his professional and production skills by setting up digital platforms, where prayer sessions were streamed live for the members to follow from home on YouTube and Facebook.
Muhumuza never worked on Sabbath and was clear on that.
His last moments
According to the police, Muhumuza was driving on the fateful day to Entebbe on the Entebbe Expressway. He was about to the exit at the Mpala Toll Station when he suddenly lost control of his vehicle, crashing into barriers, dying instantly.
Muhumuza had just returned from an assignment in the Albertine Graben in Hoima District the previous night. He was rushing to Nkumba University to hand in a coursework assignment before returning to Kampala to oversee the launch of SDA church’s Hope Television whose existence he co-championed.
Friends, colleagues, leaders and members of the public converged at the Kampala Central Seventh Day Adventist Church for a requiem service in his memory last Saturday evening.
He was laid to rest on Monday at his family’s ancestral grounds at Kanyinya Village, Kibuye Sub-county, Kyegegwa District.
He is survived by his father, mother and two sisters, Joweria Tusingwire and Allen Komujumi.