By Anne Mugisa

PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has bestowed a posthumous “Pearl of Africa” medal on the former Tanzanian President, Julius Kambarage Nyerere, for his contribution to Uganda’s liberation and his advocacy for regional integration.

Museveni will brave the over 3,000km journey by road through Kenya to deliver the medal to Nyerere’s widow in Butiama, Tanzania.

Tamale Mirundi, the presidential press secretary, yesterday said preparations were underway for the President’s visit.
“But I cannot tell you yet when he will be travelling.”

Museveni, who is the chairman of the East African Community, will visit Kisumu before proceeding to Tanzania to visit Nyerere’s burial place.

In Tanzania, he will also visit the burial place of the first African Cardinal in the Catholic Church, the late Laurean Cardinal Rugambwa. Rugambwa was elevated to cardinal in 1960.

He died in 1997 and was buried at the northern Tanzania Diocesan headquarters in Kashozi, Kagera region.

According to Mirundi, while in Kisumu, Museveni will meet Kenyan government officials and visit industrial installations.
He added that the President will meet his Tanzanian counterpart, Jakaya Mrisho Kitwete.

Tanzania was the first country to integrate when Tanganyika mainland and Zanzibar merged to form Tanzania.

Nyerere believed that individual African countries were too small to be economically viable and advocated regional integration.