Staring at death after his cancer diagnosis, Steve Jobs, the inspirational founder of Apple, said: ‘No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to go there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be because death is very likely the single best invention of life”
Indeed, no one wants to die but death is an inevitable part of life. And in 2016, death remained a normal fixture of life. EDRIS KIGGUNDU looks at some of the notable deaths of 2016.
CHRIS KASSAMI
Kassami, 68, the former permanent secretary and secretary to the treasury, died on March 11 at Nairobi hospital.
Kassami joined the ministry of finance as a young graduate economist on April 25, 1972. He rose through the ranks, gained promotions and added responsibility over the years to become chief economist, permanent secretary/deputy secretary to the treasury (budget) and secretary to treasury by the time he retired in 2013.
His successor, Keith Muhakanizi, said Kassami was key among a small group of economists that deliberately championed many groundbreaking socio-economic and financial changes that functioned as the foundation and cornerstone for the current economic stability and growth.
JOHN BAPTIST MUKAJANGA
On July 16, Mukajanga, 42, a renowned Catholic preacher, died mysteriously. His personal doctors revealed he died of a blood clot in one of his vessels that take blood to the lungs.
Makajanga gained popularity as a prayer leader in Bukalango where he worked under Monsignor Expedito Magembe. He also had a ministry called JB Mukajanga Fire Ministries located on Jemba plaza, on Luwum street, where he held weekly lunch-hour prayers.
ANDREW PATRICK LUWANDAGGA
Luwandagga, 61, a veteran sports journalist and commentator at Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC), died on October 22 shortly after collapsing at his home in Namasuba.
Luwandagga had become a TV icon and was a former chairperson of the Uganda Sports Press Association (Uspa). He was once a sports contributor at the BBC World Service.
He was born on September 21, 1955. He attended Old Kampala secondary school. At the time of his death, Luwandagga was the head of sports and current af- fairs at UBC.
ROBERT KITARIKO
Kitariko, 83, died of stroke in Kampala on January 18. He was a former secretary general of the Democratic Party (DP) and a renowned opposition activist.
He also served as a com- missioner of the Electoral Commission in the 1990s. Born on March 3, 1933, in Rukiga, Kabale district, Kitariko held a degree in Economics from University of Delhi, India.
When President Museveni formed a broad-based government after the 1986 guerilla war, Kitariko served as minister for water. He was survived by a wife, a son and three grandchildren.
MATTHIAS NSUBUGA
Nsubuga, 60, passed away on December 18 at Case hospital after suffering a stroke. At the time of his death, he was the secretary general of DP. He served as Bukoto South MP between 2006 and 2016. He was described as a moderate politician, a pacifist and nationalist.
Nsubuga was born on November 26, 1956 in Ngereko-Manja, Lwengo district. He is survived by a wife, eight children and grandchildren.
Nsubuga cut his political teeth as a political assistant first to Nasser Ntege Sebaggala, when he was elected mayor in 1998 and then to John Ssebaana Kizito, who succeeded Sebaggala at City Hall.
The two mentored him.
“He was a straightforward politician. If he did not like anything, he would tell you,” Ssebaana said of Nsubuga.
MAJ GEN JULIUS OKETTA
Oketta, 60, the deputy coordinator, Operation Wealth Creation, died on November 5 at Kadic hospital, Kampala after a cardiac arrest.
Oketta represented Uganda People’s Defense Force (UPDF) in the 9th Parliament. The fallen general served the army in different capacities rising through the ranks over time.
From 1989 until 1993, he was division commander of the 6th division of the National Resistance Army (NRA) which morphed into the UPDF.
From 2001 until 2003, he served as the chief of logistics and engineering in the UPDF. In 2003, he served as the Uganda liaison officer in Sudan. He also served as the head of the procurement and disposal unit at the ministry of Defence.
In September 2014, Gen Oketta was nominated to join the African Union-led humanitarian mission to address the threat of the Ebola virus on the continent.
MAJ GEN LEVI KARUHANGA
Karuhanga, 60, died on April 22 at Nakasero hospital from abdominal complications. At the time of his death, he was the chairman of the General Court Martial (GCM).
In 2007, Karuhanga was appointed as the first commander of the African Union Mission to Somalia.
In 2010, he was appointed commanding officer of the UPDF Reserve Force, serving until June 2014, when he was appointed chairman of the GCM. He joined the bush war around 1981 in Luweero district. Karuhanga served in a number of positions in the UPDF.
MAJ MUHAMMAD KIGGUNDU
Kiggundu, 52, one of the former commanders of the rebel Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) who was later given amnesty by the government, was gunned down on November 26 at Masanafu, a Kampala suburb.
His grisly death in broad day-light shocked many and raised questions about the safety of Muslim clerics, many of who are said to be a target of the ADF. He was the husband of Sylvia Namutebi aka Mama Fiina, the leader of traditional herbalists in Uganda.
Maj Kiggundu denounced armed rebellion with a group of ADF fighters almost a decade ago and was integrated into the UPDF and promoted to the rank of major in December 2007.
GEORGE AGABA
Agaba, 40, died on December 10 in a road accident at Nyamitanga on the road to Isingiro from Mbarara.
He got into public spotlight as director of physical planning at Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA); a job he executed enthusiastically, but sometimes with tragic results.
His most controversial moment came in January 2012 when he was accused along his bodyguard, Santos Komakech Makmot, of shooting dead one person and injuring five others during an eviction exercise in Luzira.
Agaba and Makmot were later cleared of the murder charges by the High court at Nakawa. I In April 2013, he was reinstated as director of physical planning at KCCA.
But he was sacked a year later by Jennifer Musisi, the KCCA executive director, over allegations of corruption. He was a protégé of Sam Kutesa, the minister for Foreign Affairs. Agaba had been the deputy director of planning during the defunct KCC.
PATRICK MWONDHA
UPC stalwart Mwondha, 67, died on January 19 at the Uganda Heart Institute, Mulago. He served as MP for Bukhooli North from 1980 to 1985 and from 2001 to 2006.
He was also a member of the Constituent Assembly. Mwondha served in the Milton Obote government from 1980 to 1985 as minister for local government. He attended Busoga College Mwiri for his O and A-level before joining Makerere University where he obtained a Bachelor of Sciences and Statistics.
He also had a master’s degree in Economics.
YUSUF NSUBUGA NSAMBU
Nsambu, 85, the former Makindye West legislator died on September 28 after battling with leukemia and heart complications. Nsambu represented Makindye West in the Constituent Assembly and in the 6th and 7th parliaments.
He was an ardent proponent of federal system of governance. After being defeated by Hussein Kyanjo in 2006, Nsambu was appointed as deputy Katikkiro. He also doubled as the kingdom’s culture and tombs minister. As a lawyer, Nsambu was passionate about land matters.
KENNETH AKENA
Akena, 33, was little known, but he was thrust into the lime-light by the circumstances of his death at Lugogo on November 12. He was a child specialist at a non-governmental organisation in Kasese.
Akena was allegedly shot by Matthew Kanyamunyu, a Kampala businessman, after an altercation near Lugogo shopping mall.
It is alleged that Kanyamunyu, who was in the company of his girlfriend Cynthia Munwangari, shot Akena after his car scratched theirs. Kanyamunyu, Munwangari and his brother Joseph Kanyamunyu have since been charged with Akena’s murder and are on remand at Luzira prison.
Akena’s death led to an out-pouring of public grief and triggered tribal sentiments on social media after allegations that police was treating the suspects in a special way.