OBIT: Paul Kisalu Ssemogerere's race is over at 22
Now, all three Pauls in the family rest together under the tall pine trees of Nkumba, their lives remembered through the family, friendships and legacy they left behind.
Mourners attend a Requiem Mass for the late Paul Kisalu Ssemogerere in Nkumba, Wakiso district on August 7, 2026. (Photo source: X/@UHRC_UGANDA)
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At only 22, Paul Kisalu Ssemogerere’s life came to an end in Juneau, Alaska, and his body was returned home to be laid in Nkumba alongside his grandfather and uncle. He now rests under the gentle shadow of pines.
The only disruption to his resting place may be fallen cones or chirping birds when several mourners left after his funeral.
On June 30, the young life left his body to the shock, and possibly grimace, of his family and friends. He was born on January 4, 2004, in Maryland, USA.
During a very sombre Requiem Mass celebrated by Archbishop Paul Ssemogerere at the family home in Nkumba last week, the congregation was told to pray for the deceased’s soul. The archbishop, in his sermon, said Ssemogerere had stopped sinning and was now waiting for prayers for God to pardon him.
The Principal Judge, Justice Jane Frances Abodo, asked mourners to be quick to forgive because life is short. She also noted that there is more to life than its length.
“Life is about moments, not length of time,” she said, urging the bereaved to turn to Psalm 34 because the Lord is for the afflicted. “Times like these make us realise life is so fragile. Life is too short for grudges; forgive quickly.”
Justice Karooli Ssemogerere, the Resident Judge and Head of the High Court Kabale Circuit and father of the deceased, said Abodo was the first person he informed about Paul’s passing.
“Hon. PJ (Principal Judge), you are the first person I told that Paul had passed. You tried to call me back and then realised that even backlog was still continuing. But she did everything to support me. The Judiciary did everything to support me,” he said, thanking the Judiciary for always showing up in his short time of service.
Dr Annmarie Kisalu, Ssemogerere’s mother, said, “Paul, my son, was very humble. My son was raised by a village and that village is all of you.”
She thanked her family and friends, especially her mother who passed away five years ago, for nurturing Ssemogerere.
“She died five years ago and now he has gone to be with her. I am glad others have gone before us, so he will be with a village there until we join him."
Three Pauls, resting together
Justice Ssemogerere said the deceased grew close to his grandfather, Dr. Paul Kawanga Ssemogerere, later in life and they had a lot in common, especially politics. His grandfather was a seasoned politician and the Democratic Party’s longest serving president.
“In his last days, my father used to steal a moment or two, and come here. And then when we would walk around, we would be debating about the bio contribution of the trees. But he always had one thing in mind; he always envisaged people sitting here in large numbers. And he would wonder how. That is the legacy that he left us,” he said.
Justice Ssemogerere said life is a journey and his son’s had come to end.
“Our family is not big, so now, when we prepared that headstone, we did not estimate that we would come to bury somebody so soon by the same name. So, my mother came and said, ‘Oh, do I still have space here?’ I said, ‘Yes, you still have space here,’” he said because the headstone is where his father and young brother, Paul Semakula, rest too.
“So, this has hit at our nerve centre. It has hit at the centre of all our systems. But it is also a lesson that many things are going to happen in life and my advice is always this; I call people to share the good news and it is the same people I call to share the bad news.
“Hon. [Gerald] Sendawula, my brother-in-law, will tell you, he is always the first person here to share the good news and bad news. So, let us take the passing of Paul as a sign to re-emphasize the vitality and short length of human life and committing to God,” he said.
Laid to rest last Friday (August 7) in Nkumba, Ssemogerere joined his uncle Ssemakula, who succumbed to cancer in December 2022 and his grandfather, who died on November 18 that same year.
Now, all the three Pauls in the family are resting under tall pine trees, where the breeze will remind us all that these three once lived rich and full lives.