Garuga burial set as Kigezi politicians, family hail gallant son and father

Kigezi region is grieving the passing of celebrated businessman, politician and philanthropist Dr James Musinguzi Garuga.

Garuga, who died of oesophagus cancer on August 6, 2025, at Nakasero Hospital in Kampala, leaves behind a legacy that will be remembered for generations to come.

Born on December 16, 1953, at Katate dispensary in Kihihi, Kanungu district Garuga was the first child of Can. Violet Garuga and John Garuga among three other siblings: Ellis Baguma, the late Kenneth Turigye and late Christine Happy.

I have lost a loving husband 

Widow Dr Peace Musinguzi on August 8, 2025, said the family has lost a loving man, a responsible and caring man.

“I was wedded here with Garuga and we had spent 45 years happily married with children and grandchildren. I shall forever miss you, dear husband,” Peace breaking down, said at the All Saints Cathedral in Kampala city.

We have four children: Rowena, Alwyn, Johnnie, Phillip and seven grandchildren, she said. 

“My husband was a friend, benefactor and a mentor of many. He was a well-known donor to schools and scholars around Uganda as well as Kabale University and Valley University, where he served as a chancellor,” Peace added.

By the time of his death, we lacked visa approvals to take him to a better hospital facility in London, UK after reapplying twice without approval from the British embassy in Uganda, Peace lamented.

Tributes from leaders

During a church service to celebrate the life of Garuga at All Saints Cathedral, Nakasero in Kampala, politicians and leaders in the Kigezi region paid glowing tributes to Garuga, describing him as a mentor, compass, and a battery.

Dr Francis Runumi described Garuga as having been a generous man, a philanthropist and a mobiliser.

The widow, Dr Peace Musinguzi and family members gives her eulogy about her husband, James Garuga, during a prayer service at All Saints Church, Nakasero in Kampala. (Credit: Isaac Nuwagaba)

“He funded my 2016 campaigns when I was running for the Member of Parliament seat in the National Resistance Movement (NRM)! He never cared about Opposition or working with President Yoweri Museveni,” Runumi said.

“He did not want anything to do with identity-based on religion, sex, or economic status, but his core issue was development and fighting poverty,” he added.

"He wanted money from the Government to help the struggling people and he used to say: If you can’t help them, do not hurt them,” Runumi said.

We settled our political differences  

The former Uganda premier Amama Mbabazi described Garuga as a friend and a fellow patriot who worked tirelessly to promote democracy and good governance in Uganda.

Mbabazi praised what he called Garuga's commitment to democratic principles and his contributions to the development of Uganda's political landscape.

“We had settled our political differences before his death. We are here to witness his legacy and good works,” Mbabazi said.

Garuga was richer than I 

Finance Minister Matia Kasaija, who met Garuga in 1977 while he was still working at Total in Industrial Area, Kampala, spoke of him as a business friend, revealing that Garuga was wealthier than him.

Kasaija, while paying tribute to Garuga's remarkable business acumen and entrepreneurial spirit insisted that by the time of his death, the Government had not paid him his compensation money for the lost ranches.

“I visited Garuga in the hospital, and the first thing he asked me was for the money he owes the Government to be able to get treatment in the UK,” Kasaija disclosed.
Kasaija said he had instructed the permanent secretary but that Garuga died before his money was paid.

A life of service and entrepreneurship

Losing his father at the age of three, Garuga rose to prominence through his tireless efforts in business and politics after growing up with his widowed mother and grandmother Esiteeri.

He was the founder of Kigezi Highland Tea Factories, which revolutionised commercial tea production and export in southwestern Uganda, boosting livelihoods and employment in rural areas. His business empire spanned various sectors, including agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, and real estate.

Garuga's burial at his ancestral home in Rugyeyo, Kanungu district is set for August 11, 2025.