By Mulengera Reporters
During the Wednesday Church service at All Saints Church Nakasero, Naome Kabasharira told many hilarious stories about her fallen husband Maj John Kazoora who equally was a talented story-teller.
She explained how their romance started in Parliament where they both worked with him representing Kashari County in Mbarara district and herself Ntungamo district. It began during the 7th Parliament and at first, it was a secretive relationship which was only formalized in the year 2009 during the month of July. She made it clear they had been chewing for longer than 20 years.
That many people, including their children, always wondered how two strong-willed people with clearly very divergent political views could live together as husband and wife. She is a diehard NRM and a close friend of First Lady Janet Museveni and he was a diehard hater of Museveni about whom he even wrote a blockbuster titled Betrayed by my Leader. She said their marriage union had blossomed largely because Kazoora was humorous and very broad-minded person who understood that it was possible to separate politics from bed room matters.
That even when she was NRM, Kazoora was a very supportive spouse of her political battles in Rushenyi county in Ntungamo. Even on the day he died, they had spoken on phone in the morning when she rang to check on how he was doing heath-wise (he had been ill and bed-ridden for many years) and he insisted that she first tells him details how her 2026 campaign structures’ reorganization meetings in Ntungamo had gone. “He was keen and wanted to know how it was all going even when I insisted that let’s discuss his health. That man was fascinated by politics,” she told mourners.
Kabasharira also thanked hers and members of Kazoora’s extended family for being very supportive through her husband’s many years of health battles which saw him get very expensive medication from Nakasero hospital and also in Turkey for 2 years. The original idea was to go to the US but changed to Turkey after the US bill seemed too huge and unaffordable to them.
She also spoke about very close personal friends who realized that Kazoora was always true to them and they loved him back. “He was true to his friends and never let down a friend,” she said while referring to businessman and first family member Hannington Karuhanga and Ministry of Transport Commissioner Winston Katushabe plus his wife who Kazoora had aptly christened Facilitator. These frequently visited the home at Kigo and played cards/matatu and chess with him and this is how he kept engaged during his prolonged sickness.
He had been diagnosed with diabetes and battled it for years though other ailments opportunistically took advantage of his general condition to equally strike. In 2021, he suffered a bathroom fall and fatally fractured some of his bones. Naome told mourners life was so hard, they feared they were going to lose Kazoora. This was reminiscent of the 2003 sickness which saw Dr. Ssebale of Case Clinic closely working with Dr. Stella now of the US embassy assure them this was a very difficult condition. The Ssebales referred him to Mulago which referred him to Nairobi where he was confined for several months.
“Everybody knew he was gone but he pushed through and came back which proves the fighter this man was,” Naome told mourners. Close family member Matembe says it’s only prayer that saw Kazoora out of the Nairobi hospital from where he returned to lead the fight against Museveni’s sad term as critics termed it in 2005. Ironically, Naome says that Gen Museveni, against whom Kazoora was to publish a terrible book in 2012, generously contributed to that Nairobi hospital bill.
Back to the Nakasero church service of Wednesday where Naome spoke about Kazoora being deliberately smart and particular with what he put on. That he always made his own independent decisions regarding his wardrobe matters. She said many friends always did their best choosing and buying for him nice shoes, perfumes, phones and clothing whenever they travelled abroad.
But Katushabe, his longtime friend since their campus days at Makerere, always stood out. His things indicated he correctly understood and appreciated Kazoora’s tastes and preferences more than any other friend. She said he battled diabetes for more than 20 years and was able to keep succeeding because of the emotional support from good family members and financial support from friends like Hannington Karuhanga, Katushabe and others.
Having been friends since their campus days at Makerere, Winston Katushabe knew everything Kazoora would like and Naome confessed that her fallen husband uniquely loved shoes, clothes and smart phones bought for him by Katushabe than those from any other friend or donor.
She said Katushabe understood his tastes and would go as far as buying even beds for him which her husband would be very fond of. She then casually added that Katushabe shouldn’t close the taps and stop his generosity. She proposed that he continues and transfers the love and generosity he had towards her husband to her now that for him he is gone forever.
She demanded that the nice clothing, shoes, perfumes and smart phones now begin to be directly channeled to her as Kazoora’s widow so that she enjoys in his place. This joke caused endless laughter in the large congregation inside the All Saints Cathedral. Naome also thanked Kazoora’s older children for accepting her and for promising to continue peacefully co-existing with in order to preserve the Kazoora reputation, legacy and good name. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
