I wish to use this mass circulating newspaper to amplify my message of celebrating the life and achievements of a statesman, a distinguished civil servant, an opinion leader, an elder and a friend of many, Hon. Henry Kisadha Kyemba. Mzee Kyemba who passed on last week at the age of 84 had an excellent career in service of his motherland and Busoga where he hailed from and where he settled most of his retirement life.
Busoga and all Uganda have been robbed of a respected elder, a father, brother, friend, advisor, opinion leader and mentor with such a clear vision. He was courageous, a person with high integrity, a honest man, a man with a high sense of humility, a strategic planner who promoted team work and one whose entire life was focused on results.
Mzee Kyemba is one of the few leaders from Busoga that witnessed and participated in nearly all the stages of liberation of this country pre and post-Independence. He ably utilized his opportunities in leadership and put his country ahead of any other personal matters. This is how he has succeeded in leaving behind a very clean and outstanding record.
The leaders of this generation unlike the generation of the Kyembas prefer to put personal interest ahead of the common good of our people. And this is where our problems start. It is in this generation where we have leaders who have accumulated wealth which cannot be explained by any standard. Many in Hon. Kyemba’s group have lived a very simple life yet they had much access to public resources and they had significant power and influence to have all things to themselves.
My appeal to fellow leaders of this generation is that as we witness the departure of many of these senior citizens, we should pick lessons from their service.
It is unusual, for a leader in this generation to be remembered after leaving power. This is not because they have ceased existing, but because of their tainted records, absence of positive footprints and lack of any inspiring legacy for the generations coming after them.
Hon. Kyemba was a special person who had a strong and brave spirit. He had to make a choice between living a luxurious life as Minister for Health or redeeming the lives of many Ugandans who were being violently murdered on the orders of President Idi Amin. Few of us in leadership of today can take the decision Hon. Kyemba took (of abandoning his cabinet post and fleeing into exile) if we were in his position. This can be evidenced by the reactions of some leaders whenever President Yoweri Museveni talks about the sacrifices made to liberate this country and the value derived by Ugandans at large. To those inward-looking leaders, things happened on their own, therefore, we should forget about heroes of liberation and their purpose in building a progressive country.
With his book, “A State of Blood”, he exposed to the world the ills of the Amin regime and this gave fire to the process of removing the dictator from power.
The NRM Government greatly recognized the contribution of Hon. Kyemba, which is why he was appointed a Minister by the President (thank you so much, Your Excellency) and, also, the people of Jinja voted him as their representative in Parliament. He has been serving in different capacities till the time his health began to fail.
Hon. Kyemba has been a key resource to the Government of Uganda whom President Museveni has been consulting on a number of issues. Unlike many elders who retire and become sources of conflict and intrigue in society, he was a man of peace and good counsel. Indeed, the people of Busoga have lost a pillar of peace and good counsel.
The resourcefulness of elders such as Kyemba is why this country still needs the vast knowledge, experience, wisdom and clout of leaders of that generation among whom President Museveni towers above.
As a human being, Hon. Kyemba could not have been perfect in all areas but that is to be expected since he was a human being like me and you. The only thing we can do now is to ask everyone that he may have been hurt to sincerely forgive him as it is written in the Book of Mathew Chapter 6 verses 14 to 15 that: “call upon us to forgive men in order for the Lord to in return to forgive us”.
We continue to stand with the Kyemba family at this time of bereavement. Take heart believing in the word of the Lord and be comforted by it as it is stated in the Book of Jeremiah Chapter 49 verse 11 where the Lord says: “Leave your orphans behind! I will keep them alive, and let your widows trust in me.”
I thank H.E the President for granting Mzee Kyemba an official funeral, Parliament of Uganda of Uganda for holding a special session to honour and Jinja City Council for going a step ahead to name a road after him. I also appreciate Rt. Hon. Rebecca Kadaga (First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for East African Affairs), former Prime Minister, Rt. Kintu Musoke, former Cabinet Minister, Hon. Daudi Migereko, Members of Parliament; the Katukkiro, Dr. Joseph Muvawala, Prince David Wasajja of Buganda, different categories of leaders and other mourners who joined in different places including Christ the King Cathedral, Bugembe, in Jinja, to mourn and honour an elder and friend of many.
May the Almighty God accord Mzee Kyemba’s soul eternal rest. Surely, he accomplished his earthly assignments!
The author is the Minister for the Presidency
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