A close Friend of the late Gen. Elly Tumwine has revealed that the former Security Minister never wanted to die outside his motherland but they forced him to fly to Nairobi in a move to seek better treatment.
Speaking during the state funeral service on Monday at Kololo Independence grounds, Mr Enos Tumusiime, a close friend of the deceased said that three weeks before he was taken to Nairobi, they tried to engage him to leave Uganda but he refused vehemently.
“I tried to convince him to move from Mulago hospital to Nairobi, but he told me ‘No I want to die here ‘. I continued to engage him in that discussion trying to convince him but he refused. I called a number of people to talk to him but he refused. Finally, when the pain increased, he agreed after a long struggle to convince,” Mr. Tumusiime said.
Narrating the last moments of the deceased with him, Mr Tumusiime said that Gen. Tumwine knew that his time had come and he was ready to go.
“He believed that he had fulfilled his mission on earth. He would always tell us that when he came back from the bush, his biggest wish was to have a family. And we don’t have to tell anybody, jolly and the children have been a blessing to Elly.”
Dr. Abraham Omonding from Uganda Cancer Institute who was the lead doctor on the team that was treating the fallen general also disclosed that when the deceased started accumulating a lot of fluids in his abdomen and lungs, that is time medical team agreed under the consultation of Prof Godfrey Nsereko Lule (A renown gastroenterologist in East Africa region) to fly him to Nairobi.
“To be honest, it was not an easy task to convince Honorable General Elly to go to Nairobi. He was very patriotic, he challenged us a number of times. He said ‘You must have the capability to do and treat me in Uganda.’ Going to Nairobi was not Gen Elly’s option, until a lot of engagements, he accepted.” he said.
How Gen Elly Tumwine met his death:
According to Dr Omonding, when Gen Elly arrived in Nairobi, Prof Lule was able to work on him. However after the operation, he developed sepsis (a serious condition resulting from the presence of harmful microorganisms in the blood or other tissues and the body’s response to their presence, potentially leading to the malfunctioning of various organs, shock, and death.)
“Sepsis was an overwhelming infection and his blood pressure dropped, with difficulty in breathing and eventually developed kidney failure. On the 25th of August 2022 around 06:45, he got a cardiac arrest and he could not be revived. Your Excellency, we lost the battle. May God comfort the family of Honorable Gen Elly Tumwine,” he said.
Gen Tumwine, also the former minister of Security passed on Thursday 25th at Agha Khan hospital in Nairobi. He will be laid to rest on Tuesday 30th at his home in Rwebikoma, Kazo District.
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