As a result of the 1979 war that overthrew Idi Amin, I did not report to school for senior one first term. When I joined the school in second term, all senior one students were housed in Australia house. All the girls were moved to Africa house.
One of the first rules I encountered at Budo was not to walk on grass, especially the quadrangle lawns. It is a simple, almost innocuous rule. Yet it is one of the most important and significant rules ever put in place.
Even to this day, I will not be caught crossing a quadrangle. I will not opt for a shortcut. Even if it costs more. When tempted to do so, the imagery that comes to my mind is the Budo quadrangle.
Very green. Very serene. Very beautiful. Very orderly and organized. The reason Budo has good lawns is because the founders, the headmaster, the staff decided, one by one to enforce the rule against crossing lawns.
Every day, during our time, the groundsman, Mr Senkya, decided to carefully and meticulously tend the lawns. Do not underestimate the power of daily small decisions in determining destiny.
The day you come to Budo and find the lawns interspersed with paths and undesigned walkways, don’t wait for anybody to tell you that the school, Budo, has gone to the dogs. Or, that the dogs have come to Budo.
LEADERSHIP
In senior two I became the gardener of England house and we soon thereafter started winning all the inter-house gardening competitions.
In senior three, I became the sublamper. Many of the Englanders still call me sublamper. This is a special position unique only to Budo, to the best of my knowledge.
A few years ago we got involved in a minor accident with another vehicle belonging to Sam Nsubuga, an OB from Africa house. It was being driven by his wife, Nancy, on her way to taking a sick child to see a doctor.
My driver and bodyguard were engaging her and she seemed agitated and inconsolable. When I recognized her, I asked them to call her to my window. Nancy came and as soon as she saw me, she shouted “Sublamper.”
This may seem like a simple incident but in my view it says a lot about Budo and Budonians. I didn’t know that Sam’s wife knew that I was a sublamper. The fact that a nasty incident had suddenly turned into a joyful reunion speaks volumes about the power of friendship, networks, and well, sublampership!
In my final year, I became Prep prefect. Just for the record, I won the vote for Head prefectship but the staff in their wisdom, decided to assign me to Prep. I am forever grateful for this decision because it helped me further appreciate and practice the verse that all leadership comes from the Lord.
SPORTS AND GAMES
England house was always in the thick of things at the football field. I remember being top scorer in the junior league in 1980. We were introduced to new games like cricket, basketball and volleyball.
Inter House Athletics competitions were always a time we looked forward to. Indeed, Budo helped us to keep a healthy mind in a healthy body.
I pay tribute to Mr Semanda, the England housemaster who was also gamesmaster during my entire six years at the school.
THEATRE
Under Mr John Woods and later Jonathan Lowes, the school produced plays, including but not limited to Julius Caesar, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Merchant of Venice, School for Scandal, Lion and the Jewel, A Man for All Seasons, Murder in the Cathedral, to mention but a few.
We acted in all those plays and participating in the plays increased my love and grasp of literature and indeed of the English language.
SOUL
In my six years, in Budo, I never, to my recollection, missed morning chapel even once. I cannot say the same of all the students. The Bible says in more than one place: “The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.”
Rev Laban Bombo (RIP), our chaplain and maths teacher for all my time at Budo, used to say it as follows: “The fear of God, that is wisdom.”
In primary school in Mugulu primary school, Butaleja district, where I did primary one to three, we were taught handwriting on small slates using chalk. Each pupil had their own slate to write on. By the way, writing on the slate was a promotion from writing in the sand.
In Butaleja, we learnt how to read and write in Luganda before we transitioned to English in upper primary. So, we would write over and over the sentence written on the blackboard by the teacher.
The statement I remember vividly writing over and over on my slate was: “Mukutya Mukama Amagezi Mwegasokera.”
At the time, I did not know that those words were from the Holy Scriptures. Yet they not only helped me perfect my handwriting on the slate, they helped imprint a particular worldview on my heart.
I can testify today that the fear of the Lord, that is the greatest wisdom you can ever harness in this life. It is the true and sure foundation upon which to build any meaningful structures of life.
ACADEMICS
When all is said and done, the reason parents bring their children to Budo is not because they are looking for a good religious school. The parents are not looking for a school where their children will excel in sports or in administration or any of those other excellent areas of life.
The topmost reason majority of parents bring their children to Budo is because of its academic prowess. The reason that the overwhelming number of pupils and students want Budo is the school’s dominant excellence in academics.
The reason, I, from a small, remote village, Buwesa primary school, in Butaleja wanted Budo as my first choice, was because I had heard of its academic excellence.
PUTTING THE LESSONS OF BUDO TO GOOD USE
A friend of mine, Dr Daniel Ruhweza, proud product of Busoga College, Mwiri, my father’s school, has written a book entitled: We Don’t Teach That at The University.
If I was to write a book on the topic I am about to address, it would be entitled: What They Do Not Teach You at Budo. The book would consist mainly of one topic.
That one topic would be about doing all that you were taught to do and following the rules, and not crossing the quadrangle; how come sometimes you do not get the expected results? How do you cope with doing right and getting punished for it?
What do you do when you have walked in accordance with the rules, and not crossed the quadrangle and you find that the person who crossed the quadrangle, has not only not been punished, but has instead been rewarded at your expense?
The question has been asked in many different forms over the years.There is a book entitled: When Bad Things Happen to Good People by Harold Kushner.
So, do not be surprised when bad things happen to good Budonians. My conclusion to that book would be, if it happened to Jesus Christ, son of God, sinless human being, do-gooder all round; brother, sister, who are you to be exempt from the evil forces of this world?
FURTHER STUDIES
Allow me to very quickly take you through my journey after Budo to encourage, especially the students to stick to the discipline, ethics and hard work instilled by Budo.
I proceeded to Makerere University, Mitchell hall and studied Law together with George Bamugemereire and Geoffrey Byaruhanga. Thereafter, I proceeded to Law Development Centre and graduated with a postgraduate diploma in Legal Practice.
After one year of work with the Attorney General’s chambers, I followed my friend Monica and married in December 1990 in Iowa City, USA. Monica taught at Budo between 1986 and 1988. For avoidance of doubt, she was never my teacher. Neither were we ever at Budo at the same time.
So, I never married my teacher.
CAREER
I joined the Attorney General’s chambers as State Attorney. Worked as personal assistant to Attorneys General Abu Mayanja and Kalias Ekemu. I worked at the Constituent Assembly Commission, seconded from the Attorney General’s chambers.
Later I was seconded to State House to work as Private Secretary for Legal Affairs to President Museveni, a position I held for seven years before heading back to Attorney General’s chambers as a Principal State Attorney.
Thereafter, I took early retirement from the public service and joined Uganda Revenue Authority as assistant commissioner and executive assistant to then Commissioner General Allen Kagina.
I served in this position until 2010 when I was appointed a High Court Judge and posted to Masaka before being transferred to Fort Portal, where I served till 2013. I was appointed deputy head of Division of the Land Division until later that year when I was appointed Director of Public Prosecutions.
In early 2020, I was appointed a Justice of the Supreme Court of Uganda, a position I am serving at presently. Outside the legal career, I serve as President of the Bible Society of Uganda and as a Council Member of the Scripture Union of Uganda.
I am eternally grateful to Budo for the foundation that was laid in my life while I was a student.
AWARDEES
• David Nyende Martin
• Thomas James Kiggundu
• Joash Ismail Kadilo Uyirwoth
• Dr Kasujja Masitula Nakitto
• Dr Alan Senkatuuka Shonubi
• Tom Senfuma Kakaba
Medal of Achievement
• Dr Busingye Kabumba
• Kabiito Karamagi
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