Close friend recounts last meeting with late MK Publishers' Musoke

Jun 26, 2022

Kigongo said they have lost a man full of wisdom, very calm and a committed board member UNCCI.

Batambuze said Musoke (Pictured) was due to fix an appointment for him to meet NCDC director Grace Baguma so he could listen to her side too.

Umar Kashaka
Journalist @New Vision

TRIBUTE | MUSOKE | DEATH 

KAMPALA - A very close friend of the late Samuel Majwega Musoke, 63, the proprietor of MK Publishers Ltd, has recounted his last conversation with him.

Charles Batambuze, the executive secretary of National Book Trust of Uganda, said on Sunday (June 26) that the news of Musoke’s death shocked him.

Musoke, who was also the vice-president of the Uganda National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (UNCCI), died on Saturday, just days after being operated on for intestinal obstruction in the US state of Louisiana.

“I also panicked because of the velocity with which it (news) hit my emotions. The last time I met him physically was April 11, 2022. On this day, I made my way to MK Book House on Entebbe Road to have lunch with him in his office,” said Batambuze.

Batambuze, who is currently in Moroto district supporting creatives to perform and exhibit their works, recalled that he found Musoke had been waiting for him for a long time, having been delayed by Entebbe Road lunchtime traffic.

“We dived right into a conversation on a current dilemma over the mandate of the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC) concerning educational books that has divided publishers. His was that the system for evaluation of textbooks needed to change,” he said.

He noted that every time there is a bid to write and develop curriculum books, 10 to 20 publishers invest in the process. However, only three books (publishers) get selected, meaning the majority of the bidders lose the investment, added Batambuze.

“His solution [was that] let the three winners go-ahead to supply the advertised tender. "

However, NCDC should open doors to enable those that didn't make it to improve their book to the required standard, get NCDC approval and distribute the book on the open market.

This proposal, he said, had sparked a huge debate amongst publishers,” Batambuze said in a message he posted on his Facebook page.

'I will miss him'

Batambuze said Musoke was due to fix an appointment for him to meet NCDC director Grace Baguma so he could listen to her side too.

“This hasn't happened but I will still look her up. We then discussed copyright protection, holograms and countrywide inspection visits. I will miss him,” he wrote.

He also recalled that in 2015/16, MK Publishers contributed to his campaign's success.

“I wanted to become MP for Busiki County, but my bid was unsuccessful on account of many factors. Indeed when I returned, Majwega counselled me and I resettled back into my roles in the book industry,” he said. 

Batambuze thanked God for enabling him to learn from the late how to be resilient. “May God rest him in eternal peace,” he prayed.

'I am still in denial'

Olive Kigongo, the president of the UNCCI, told New Vision that they were also in a state of shock after hearing the news of Musoke’s death.

“We are still in shock as UNCCI. I chatted with him from Seoul [the capital of South Korea] on Tuesday [June 21], where I had just arrived and he told me he had undergone intestinal obstruction surgery in Louisiana,” she said in a WhatsApp message she sent on the plane back home.

Kigongo then said she wished Musoke a quick recovery at the time and asked him to keep her updated on his progress in treatment on Thursday.

“I texted him asking how he was feeling, but no answer; it never occurred to me that it was very serious! I’m still in denial because he was full of life, a very successful businessman, but extremely humble,” she noted.

Kigongo said they have lost a man full of wisdom, very calm and a committed board member UNCCI.

"In spite of his busy schedule, he always made time for UNCCI. I had virtually left him to handle matters of the institution and which are not easy. I can only wish his soul to rest in eternal peace,” she said.

Musoke served as director in the UNCCI, a major link that brings Ugandan businessmen and women to counterparts in other countries to exploit opportunities abound.

Musoke's profile

Batambuze said Musoke, who was holding a master’s degree in business administration (management) from Nkumba University, was a businessman, entrepreneur and an educationist of high standing who taught in several schools before managing many education related ventures. 

He was the chief executive director of a group of publishing companies founded in seven East and Central African countries under the auspices of MK Publishers Ltd, a local publishing firm in Uganda.

The publishing firms founded under the MK brand name are: MK Publishers Ltd, the mother company in Uganda; MK Publishers (R) Ltd in Rwanda; MK Publishers Ltd in Zambia; MK Publishers Kenya Ltd, MK SEG, Burundi, MK Publishers Tanzania Ltd and MK Publishers, Ethiopia.

He was elected the chairman of the Uganda Publishers Association (UPA) in 2016. Earlier, he was the Vice Chairman of UPA, a national association upholding the standards of book publishing in the country, from 1993 to 1996 and deputy secretary general 1989 to 1992.

Batambuze noted that Musoke’s avidity for education had soared into the position of the president of Avance International University in which he was a founder member.

He said Musoke was also a director at Axial International College which offers international education in Uganda at affordable cost.

He had also founded other companies in the realms of education, notably, MK Crown Academy, WR Consultant which links students to over 159 universities in the world and MK General School Supplies Ltd.

Musoke was also the founder of SDM Properties (U) Ltd, a property development company in Uganda, and the winner of the Uganda Businessman of the Year Award 2000 and also winner of the 2003 International Award for Excellence and Business Prestige, New York.

He was also president of the Rotary Club of Bunga and chairman of Mubende Farmers Association from 1989 to 1992. 

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