By Mulengera Reporters
Dr. Peace Musinguzi had been fallen Kanungu tycoon James Garuga Musinguzi’s wife since the year 1980. They had met as youths at Makerere University in the late 1970s and lived with each other, raising their four children, until a few days ago when he breathed his last. He had been unwell since the year 2006 when he was first diagnosed with throat cancer.
Addressing hundreds of mourners who gathered to celebrate his life at All Saints Church Nakasero on Friday, Dr. Musinguzi explained Garuga’s final battle. She explained how he had been declared cancer-free after years of frequent travel abroad for specialized medical attention.
She revealed that last November, he suddenly felt unwell and complained of pain relating to heap-related complications which escalated to the extent that he couldn’t up from his seat (this fracture problem had begun in 1992 when he was involved in an accident but the same had been declared gone after comprehensive treatment). He was rushed to Nakasero Hospital where medics did their best as several tests were conducted, including confirmatory ones at Nairobi-based Aga Khan Hospital.
That it was eventually established that the lung-related complications that had resulted required urgent attention at one of the world’s best hospitals in London. Garuga’s UK visa had expired last November and yet consensus was that he needed to be flown to the UK urgently because that is where his medical condition had previously been managed, to best outcomes.
Time was of essence, as medics manning the Nakasero Hospital ICU did their best to save his life. There was need to be quickly evacuated to UK yet his visa application was declined. Former Kabale district Chairman Francis Runumi, who along with Garuga was among the very first senior Movementists to embrace Kizza Besigye in 2001, was a best friend. Runumi, who years ago retired from being a Commissioner at the Ministry of Health, worked around the clock to save his friend.
It was Runumi who linked up with Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa, a proud Garuga Musinguzi mentee since the FDC days. Tayebwa was concerned and offered to leverage his close friendship with the incumbent British High Commissioner in Kampala. He reached out to her and the Commissioner was sympathetic that such a consequential son of Uganda was struggling to access life-saving treatment in her country.
Tayebwa got her to directly speak with Garuga’s wife, Dr. Peace Musinguzi. The High Commissioner directly rang Dr. Musinguzi and advised them to put in a fresh application which she promised to help on to ensure the visa gets issued. She went on to explain to Dr. Musinguzi that the British visa-processing rules are rigid and the full process has to be followed even when she is the head of mission and was realizing the need to act urgently.
In the end, the family learnt of the Turkish option but Garuga Musinguzi, a tycoon who was renowned for many things including donating the Najjanankumbi premises to FDC, didn’t make it. His lung-related/breathing condition deteriorated very fast and he breathed his last as preparations were being made to be flown to Istanbul. At the Friday church service, the widow thanked Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda too for being there for them towards Garuga’s very final moment.
The children, emboldened by Rev Andrew Agaba who was the MC during the church tribute-making session, thanked Dr. Kizza Besigye for being a great and unwavering friend of their dad. They recalled how Dr. Besigye, whose continued detention one of them disapprovingly referenced, always traveled to Kanungu to join them to celebrate their departed dad’s birthdays. He would always give a key note address, including late last year as the departed tycoon’s birthday was being celebrated at what he willed to be his final resting place.
Then Rev Andrew Agaba, who was very close to Garuga, asserted that KB’s endless persecution and imprisonment at Luzira greatly stressed Garuga and possibly caused his health condition to deteriorate, accelerating his death. As he invited the ex-Premier Amama Mbabazi to make his speech, Rev Agaba implored the two ex-Premiers (JPAM & Rugunda) to remind fellow Movement historicals of the need to treat the veteran politician from Rwakabengo in Rukungiri district more humanely.
He told the congregation how Garuga always wondered why a talented bush war fighter like Dr. Besigye was never being given chance to hold a consequential leadership position and contribute to nation-building like the rest have been doing for the last 40 years. Rev Agaba put it to Mbabazi and Rugunda to always remember that Kizza Besigye, as Museveni’s personal physician, made such a huge contribution towards the success of the NRA bush war to the extent that no one will ever succeed erasing that away.
Whereas no one made any conspicuous reference to Najjanankumbi, one of Garuga’s sons made conspicuous reference to PFF leader Erias Lukwago (who officially represented Dr. KB) and his Secretary General Semujju Nganda as the embattled FDC President Patrick Oboi Amuriat uneasily turned in his seat. He was there seated, all alone, exhausted and seemingly frightened. There was seldom reference to the leadership at Najjanankumbi and what remains of the FDC party, which Garuga joined Besigye and others to co-found in the year 2005.
In fact, that Najjanankumbi headquarters used to be his property which he donated to the party at a give-away price. He more less gave it to the party free of charge and went on to fund many FDC party activities for many years until later on when he became disengaged as he concentrated on his health.
Whereas Mbabazi corroborated one of the son’s claim that Garuga as a fundraiser, mobilized billions of money into the NRA war effort, Rugunda saluted the departed property mogul for being such a unifier who managed to bring together people, including adversaries, both in his life time and in death. Francis Runumi also delivered a powerful eulogy in which he profiled Garuga the way he closely knew him during the 50 years of their friendship. Matia Kasaija too paid glowing tribute to a tycoon who sought to selflessly empower Ugandans and humanity regardless of tribe or religion.
More can be seen and viewed from these YouTube videos attached hereunder: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3g09H69R-U; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujKeLTZYDIc&t=941s; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w66pFxxdAg4&t=31s; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-RQC7wzooo & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iH7SCWgWz-U&pp=0gcJCa0JAYcqIYzv. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
