Gospel singer Margaret Najjuma Mubiru laid to rest on her 44th birthday

MUKONO - Gospel singer Margaret Najjuma Mubiru was laid to rest on Friday in Mukono district on the very day she would have turned 44.

She died on Monday this week after a two-and-a-half-month-long battle with cancer that had spread to her liver and stomach — so advanced it left doctors with hardly anything to do to save her life.

The wife of Adventist pastor and former Vision Group journalist Apollo Mubiru, Najjuma was buried in Seeta-Nazigo village in Nakisunga sub-county.

Dr Robert Mutumba, the deputy commissioner in charge of HIV & AIDS at the health ministry, who is a family friend of the Mubirus and a member of Mukono Central Seventh-Day Adventist Church, said the cancer had spread to multiple parts of her body by the time it was discovered.

The wife of Adventist pastor and former Vision Group journalist Apollo Mubiru, Najjuma was buried in Seeta-Nazigo village in Nakisunga sub-county. (All Photos by Henry Nsubuga)

“Najjuma had several cancerous masses in the liver and five in the stomach. Although doctors at the Uganda Cancer Institute in Mulago did their best to save her, the disease was already at an advanced stage,” he told mourners.

He described the suffering Najjuma endured during her final weeks alive as severe, with her illness having initially been mistaken for stomach ulcers.

She had experienced persistent pain and had sought medical attention on several occasions, but the cancer was not detected early.

Mutumba expressed concern that many cancer patients in Uganda are diagnosed when the disease has advanced to a stage where treatment options are limited and the chances of survival are reduced.

Najjuma's children, Jessy Mubiru and her younger sister, Jemima Mulungi, also paid tribute to their mother, recalling the love and care she had given them.

'New life'

Earlier, mourners gathered at Mukono Central SDA Church, where Najjuma worshipped with her family for years, for a service attended by church leaders, including Dr Moses Ndimukika Maka, the former Archbishop of the SDA Uganda Union and current general secretary of the SDA Church's East and Central Africa Division.

Speaking at the funeral, Maka said the Mubirus had been close friends of his for years, prompting him to travel from Kenya's capital, Nairobi, where he works, to attend the burial.

“I have been a close friend and ally of Mubiru for some time. It is the reason I persuaded him to leave journalism and study to become a pastor, a calling he has faithfully pursued,” he said.

Other church leaders, led by East Buganda Field Bishop Jeremiah Alisengawa, praised Najjuma for her ministry, generosity and encouragement to people around her.

They urged mourners to draw comfort from their Christian faith and the hope of resurrection.

“It is advisable not to grieve relentlessly, especially if you believe that Najjuma has not entirely perished but has transformed into a new life. We testify to her faith and commitment to God, and we believe that where she has gone, there is no sorrow but rejoicing,” said Alisengawa

Najjuma's children, Jessy Mubiru and her younger sister, Jemima Mulungi, also paid tribute to their mother, recalling the love and care she had given them.

New Vision Editor-in-Chief Sidney Miria Babanga, accompanied by several of the widower's former colleagues, praised Mubiru as a dedicated professional and extended condolences to him and his children.

Jessy has lost her mother while sitting her Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) examinations.

Jemima, a Senior One student at Hilton High School, said witnessing her mother's prolonged suffering had strengthened her determination to become a medical doctor so that she could help her throughout the battle. 

New Vision Editor-in-Chief Sidney Miria Babanga, accompanied by several of the widower's former colleagues, praised Mubiru as a dedicated professional and extended condolences to him and his children.

Mubiru, who worked for many years as a journalist at Vision Group before becoming a pastor, spoke emotionally about his relationship with his late wife, describing her as loving, trusting and supportive.

“She was very comfortable with me handling her money. Whenever she organised music concerts, she would put me in charge of her finances,” he said.

He told mourners that his beloved wife of 19 years loved him and their two children deeply and had unwavering faith in him.