KEITH MUHAKANIZI FUNERAL SERVICE 🕯️

Live reporting & editing by Joseph Kizza
(Scroll down the page for earlier updates)
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3:00 pm  |   DEPARTURE PICTURES  📸

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2:52 pm  |   END OF FUNERAL SERVICE

The funeral service comes an end. President Museveni greets and waves goodbye to the bereaved family and the other mourners and departs from Kololo.

The Uganda flag-draped casket also leaves, wheeled out of the tent and placed inside a hearse.

Thank you for reading along here. May the soul of the last Keith Muhakanizi rest in peace.

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2:45 pm  |   The blessing

Rt Rev. Dr Edward Muhima will deliver the blessing:

"We continue in prayer. We thank you Heavenly Father for who You are and for what You mean to each one of us and us altogether.

"We thank You that You that you held the rain out there. We have been able to accomplish this fellowship under this warm weather that is coming.

"We thank You for everything You have said to us through Your people. We want to thank You for Muhakanizi and his dear family and I pray that Your peace, which is beyond understanding will be ours to experience everyday on the day, especially as we remember our dear brother.

"And may the blessing of God Almighty fall afresh upon each individual here present. From the Excellency our President to the people that he leads. May His blessings always be in the food you eat, in the drinks you drink and in the air you breathe.

"May these blessings always be in every corner of every room where you find yourself. May these blessings always be in every mode of transport -- aeroplane, bus, taxi, my car, boda boda

"May these blessings be in every hand that shakes your whole hand and may we be so blessed that we continue to abide in Him and He in us so that as a result, we bear wonderful fruit that will glorify His name.

"And I pray for all these in Jesus' name."
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2:34 pm  |   Closing prayer: 'Give us strength and comfort'

This funeral service is nearing its end, as Rev. Moses Ahimbisibwe steps forward to deliver the closing prayer.

"Thank you Lord that your servant Keith was born, he lived with us and touched so many lives," he prays.

"And as we celebrate his life, Oh God we pray that You give us strength and comfort, You show us Your power and glory. We want to bless Your holy name for the gifts You gave him. The dedication and commitment to your service and to our nation Uganda.

"We bless Your holy name for his family. Thank you that indeed God you gave him a wife, Mummy Janet, and the great work that she has done to take care of him."
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2:23 pm  |   Moment of reflection and then offertory

"Close your eyes and reflect on your life," says All Saints' Cathedral Assistant Provost Hillary Jaffu.

"If there is anything you need to confess to the Lord, the Lord is inviting us as the bishop was speaking to make sure that we prepare ourselves that inbetween this season is meaningfully spent

"Father we thank you and we welcome your Holy Spirit. That this season we will spend our time investing in it to the reading of your word and knowledge of your word and that through all the seasons that will pass by, the circumstance that we will go through, your very presence will not leave  us.

"Thank you Lord. In Jesus' name we pray, amen."

Next up is offertory time.

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2:15 pm  |   'Let us mourn Uganda without Keith'

"Our dear brother Keith Muhakanizi was reconnected with God through our Lord Jesus Christ and as a result, he became the man that he was," preaches Rev. Muhima.

He turns to the widow and children: "This is the secret behind your husband's success as a civil servant in our country. And so when we mourn, let us mourn not only for him. Let us mourn for Uganda without him."

He goes on: "I know the family will feel you have lost a great man, but I want you to know that all of us in the country who had known Keith will mourn him equally and we are praying that this same God who has allowed Keith to live and be with you will comfort you, will give you what you need and that you, too, shall one day meet him again.

"My word of consolation to you and all of us is that which is in Psalm 121: I look up to the mountains. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, who made the heaven and the earth.
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2:00 pm 

Bishop Muhima urges mourners to reflect on what legacy they will leave behind when they are gone.

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1:52 pm  |   The preaching

And here comes the guest preacher, Rt Rev Dr Edward Muhima, who was Bishop of North Kigezi from 2004 to 2011.

In his opening prayer, he asks God to "anoint my lips that they can speak Your things clearly to Your people and anoint our ears that they may hear properly and our brains that we may understand".
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1:51 pm  |   'I commend his contribution'

"I am very sorry that Muhakanizi died when he was very useful but he made his contribution. So it is up to us, up to you people, to do your own contribution," says the President who hails the Muhakanizi's broader family for their contribution in various sectors in Uganda.

"I commend his contribution and may his soul rest in eternal peace."
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1:44 pm  |   On minimum wage stance

Museveni says the NRM party's partnership with the technocrats bore fruits. He gives an example of how "we had been struggling with the labour unions, which had been trying to bring what we call the minimum wage".

He says Muhakanizi and co "rightly advised me against that minimum wage".

"Why? Because of the same logic: things in the economy are determined by the market. You still have excess of labour/manpower compared to the jobs. If you artificially overprice labour, you will undermine the growth of the economy.

"Let the economy grow, let more investors come in and as they come in, the labour will become scarce and the price will go up.

"And I was persuaded by that line and that's how I have been able to resist the pressure of the labour unions to artificially put up the price of labour even when you don't have enough jobs to give them," says Museveni.
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1:33 pm  |   Economists' advice to Museveni

"What they had proposed helped our structural changes," says the President.

He says the economists' proposals that Museveni's political team accepted helped Uganda achieve "minimum economic recovery".
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1:33 pm  |   Economists' advice to Museveni

Museveni says the "therapy" of Muhakanizi and his fellow economists was:

▪️ Control inflation - by controlling the supply of money and have strict budgeting (don't spend the money you don't have).

▪️ Allow the market forces to determine the price of commodities. And let the shilling find its level. Let it float until it finds its level and so should all the other prices.

▪️ Let the state not be so involved in running the economy. Let it stand aside a bit and let the private sector do much of the work.

"When I listened to them, I thought what they were saying was useful but not enough. And this is where we had some sort of tug of war."

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1:27 pm  |   'Useful partnership'

President Museveni says it is the Muhakanizi group who advised him to merge the two ministries at the time into one: Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development.

He said the young economists "belonged to the thinking of the IMF [International Monetary Fund]" and the World Bank, adding that they believed in the analysis and strategy of the two global entities.

Museveni says his bush group's partnership with the Muhakanizi and co has been "quite helpful to the country".
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1:18 pm  |   Eulogies: 'Convergence of two forces'

President Yoweri Museveni says that he was shocked to learn of Muhakanizi's death last Thursday from Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja. He says he had known that the vastly experienced economist was undergoing treatment for cancer and had hoped that he would  beat the disease.

"But life is like that, we shall all die. So he has done his part and it is now, we — me and you who are here — to continue," says Museveni.

The President says he would describe his "dealings with the Muhakanizi group as a convergence of two forces, if you like."

The group he is talking about include Muhakanizi, former Central Bank governor Mutebile and former finance ministy PS Chris Kassami.

"When we came from the bush, we found them in the system — in the Ministry of Finance."
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1:12 pm  |   Eulogies: 'Keith called a spade a spade'

Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja thanks the President for according Muhakanzi an official burial "in honour of his contribution to the development of our country" and thanks Museveni for attending today's funeral service in person despite the dates changing about three times.

She says she agrees with "all those people who have described Keith Muhakanizi as a very hardworking, intelligent, sincere and result-oriented civil servant".

"Keith would call a spade a spade, not a big spoon."
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1:06 pm  |   Eulogies: 'Grandparents of Uganda's modern economy'

"Your Excellency, even when you transferred Keith, he remained with us," says finance minister Matia Kasaija in his eulogy.

"He would hardly spend a week without coming to my office to give me some guidance: 'Minister, this should be this, this should be this'. And I am sure that if his replacement [Ramathan Ggoobi] was to talk, he would testify."

"Him [Muhakanizi] together with Prof. Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile (RIP), the former Bank of Uganda governor, and among others are arguably the grandparents of Uganda's modern economy," says Kasaija.

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12:58 pm  |   'OPM colleagues will miss Keith'

"I have no doubt that if Keith had been given more time by God, he was going to organise the Office of the Prime Minister and put it to the required standards," says Nakyobe.

"And I know the people at the Office of the Prime Minister will miss Keith."
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12:50 pm  |   'Eulogies: Keith served with dedication'

Lucy Nakyobe Mbonye, the head of public service and secretary to Cabinet, leads her team in the public service in saying that Keith Muhakanizi served for over four decades in the public service with dedication.

She says they have gathered at Kololo in "sorrow and disbelief" having lost "the pride and joy, a pillar of support from whom much was expected".

"Although Keith was battling with cancer for some time, it seems like he was on top of the disease, by his looks. He was full of life. It is therefore very difficult for us to complain now that someone with such a personality and spirit has departed this earth," says Nakyobe.

"It is very sorry and sad indeed."

She adds that "Keith had a good record of public service, spanning a period of 41 years. He was first appointed as an economist in 1982 and he rose through the ranks to become a permanent secretary and secretary to Treasury in 2013, a position he occupied for eight years.

"Then he was transfered to the Office of the Prime Minister as permanent secretary in July 2021, where he served until his death.

"Keith served with dedication, passion and had the courage to speak out honestly and directly, a character that is rare among most public servants of today."
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12:25 pm  |   Widow on understanding Keith more in final years

Keith Muhakanizi's wife of nearly 33 years speaks of her husband's commitment to duty, saying he placed work above family.

She also says that he was "stubborn sometimes. But in his stubbornness, people around him would feel warm. Sometimes he would just decide to annoy you, but tickling you to engage you and get more out of you".

"And that was cleverness, to me."

Janet says she enjoyed "some deeper understanding of Keith throughout his sickness because he told me more about his family, friends and I got to understand him more. Before, he was this person immersed in his work. He was a workaholic and I would get scared sometimes whether my children would ever enjoy him, because work was above family to him.

"But he would  try to come in the shortest time possible, talk to his children about education, which he cherished so much....he was a leading example.

"He would trust me and then also guide me to be more hardworking, to be more involved in even issues I was not enjoying, like football, politics," says Janet in her emotional eulogy.

"He would sometimes ask me to wait for them as they enjoyed their Liverpool match with his daughter, then he would ask me to either support or just cheer them as they enjoyed their match.

"So somehow, I got to know the players of Liverpool, the club transfers. So, we shall miss it [his involvement]."
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12:18 pm  |   Eulogies: Widow's lesson from missing wedding ring

Janet Muhakanizi, the widow of the late economist being honoured and prayed for today, is up next.

She says that a week after their wedding on December 8, 1990, her husband flew to Washington to attend World Bank meetings. Two weeks later, he returned without his wedding ring.

"This puzzled me. I asked him what had happened. He told me he didn't know.

"I was confused. I waited for a week, then another. He was not bothered about the lost ring. Then later, I learnt  that it was not the ring as a symbol of commitment, but the heart.

"And Keith has lived to this."
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12:10 pm  |   Eulogies: Children vow to protect father's legacy

The three children of the late Keith Muhakanizi talk of how grateful they are for the support they have received in the dark time of their lives when they have lost their father.

"We are going to move on. We are going to be stronger and we are going to protect his legacy that my father has created," they vow in their moving eulogy.

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11:54 am  |   Eulogies: 'A dual carriageway kind of person'

Gen. David Muhoozi, the former Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) representing part of the family, says Muhakanizi "was a dual carriage way kind of person".

"He achieved the ordinary things of life but he was not content with those.

"He had great impact through the other fields of his service, which have left great impact," he says.
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11:50 am  |   'Keith was a resilient man - he died peacefully'

Bazeyo says that after the stem cells transplant, he was confident he would defeat the cancer. Every three months, he would go for checkups.

"On the third round, they [doctors] saw some cells in the bone and they had thought all of them had been cleared."

When he returned, he went to Aga Khan, who also saw the cells, which had increased.

"When we discussed with Turkey, they said 'Our level is over, you can now access more treatment from either Seattle (in the US) or Milan (in Italy)'," says Bazeyo.

After consulting with physicians, the family opted for Milan. The doctors recommended Cart treatment, which involves genetically modifying one's own cells and reintroducing them to one's body to kill the cancer cells.

"They gave him all the possible complications and among them were the worse ones, which one would fear and say 'I would rather die of this', but he said 'I would rather die of the complications than die of this cancer.'"

There was a 40% to 60% chance of recovery.

"The first ten days, he was doing very well, and he said, 'William, I have defeated this thing and I will come back...'"

But the situation worsened days later, with a bedridden Muhakanizi complaining of lung complications. His kidneys and liver failed, causing worry. His heart also failed.

Eventually, Muhakanizi died of multiple organ failure "but he passed on peacefully", says Bazeyo.

"He didn't have pain, but this is a man that was resilient and we [had] hoped that he would survive this thing, but he didn't."

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11:43 am  |   Eulogies: When cancer was diagnosed

William Bazeyo says he had known Muhakanizi right from their time in school at Ntare School "all through".

Bazeyo is a Ugandan physician, public health specialist, academic, researcher, and academic administrator.

In 2018, Keith had some illness that he did not understand. Cancer was suspected. He went to Aga Khan Hospital.

The team at Uganda Cancer Institute contacted Uganda's partners in the Turkish city of Adana, who referred Muhakanizi there. They made a diagnosis of a lymphoma, which was "traced from his young age".

"That was the beginning of his cancer. But at the diagnosis time, the cancer was already in the bones. He underwent all the treatment of cancer that are known: chemotherapy, radiotherapy and every time he would improve but would not recover.

"The doctors in Turkey decided to give him  higher treatment, which is called stem cells transplant or bone marrow transplant, as many people call it."

This started in 2021 during the coronavirus pandemic. As Muhakanizi waited for his cells, he developed COVID-19, restricting him to hospital for three weeks.

Muhakanizi expressed his optimism that he would recover from the coronavirus, and he did, says Bazeyo.

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11:31 am  |   Muhakanizi was 'weak' in final days alive

Abasa says that when he travelled to Italy to check on his dying brother in hospital, "he looked very weak" but that his wife, Janet, remained strong and supportive by his side.

The siblings thank the President and Government for the support they received during the final days of Muhakanizi's life and after his death.
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11:26 am  |   Eulogies: 'Muhakanizi was a pillar in our family'

It is time for eulogies and Keith Muhakanizi's siblings are invited to get this session under way, led by the late's younger brother Denis Abasa Kajwengye.

"Your Excellency, it is a little difficult to speak about Keith when he is not alive," he starts.

"He was a role model for some of us and a mentor."

"When he got a job, he took responsibility for the entire family of giving an extra hand to the support that we were getting from our parents," he adds.

"It was not only the immediate family that he cared for, he cared for the extended family. He was a pillar in our family."

Abasa adds that their eldest brother also supported the community and schools and other establishments that he was able to.
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11:12 am  |   The readings  📖

The first reading is taken from Psalm 46:1-11.

The second reading is extracted from Romans 8:35-39.
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11:09 am  |   Laying of wreaths

Next up, Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo and then Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa  and his wife also lay their wreaths.

Some institutions are also represented.

Then finally, President Yoweri Museveni, who is carrying his umbrella under the drizzly late morning, walks to the tent where the casket is and lays a wreath on top of it, before taking a bow, saluting and walking back to take his seat.

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11:04 am  |   Laying of wreaths

Among those that are called forward to lay a wreath are security minister Jim Muhwezi and wife Suzan Muhwezi, while Bob Kabonera is representing "the many friends" of Keith Muhakanizi.

The head of public service and secretary to Cabinet, Lucy Nakyobe Mbonye, is invited to lay a wreath.

And so are Muhakanizi's successor at the finance ministry, Ramathan Ggoobi, and finance minister Matia Kasaija.

The "family" of the late at the Office of the Prime Minister come foward to do the honours, before the Prime Minister, Robinah Nabbanja, follows.

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10:54 am  |   Laying of wreaths

Next to lay their wreath are the siblings of the late Keith Muhakanizi and their spouses, followed by the siblings of Janet Muhakanizi and their spouses.

The uncle of the late Muhakanizi is up next.
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10:51 am  |   Laying of wreaths

After the solemn processional hymn is sung, it is now time for the laying of wreaths.

First up will be the clergy, following by the late's family.

From the family, Janet Muhakanizi, the widow, is the first to lay a wreath on her husband's casket. The children follow, starting with the first-born.

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10:42 am  |   FUNERAL SERVICE UNDER WAY

The funeral service begins, with Hillary Jaffu, the Assistant Provost of All Saints' Cathedral, Nakasero, describing Muhakanizi as "our brother, our father, our friend".
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10:36 am  |   Muhakanizi's body at Kololo

President Yoweri Museveni has arrived at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds under a drizzle.

The Uganda flag-draped casket carrying the late Muhakanizi is also at the venue. It is gently wheeled to a tent by a team of Police officers.

The anthems are next.
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10:25 am  |   'The Keith I knew from school'

In the 1970s, Keith Muhakanizi attended six years of secondary school at Ntare School in Mbarara city.

New Vision's Andrew Arinaitwe talked to three people who studied with the late economist back in the day.

Read the article here, as you check out an old photo showing Keith (top row, 2ndR) posing with classmates, shared by one of his former colleague.

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10:23 am  |   Today's programme

Meanwhile, mourners have continued to make their way to Kololo Ceremonial Grounds and settle in for the funeral service.

Today's official function will include a session for eulogies from the family, head of public service and secretary to Cabinet, finance ministry, Prime Minister and the President.

After the service, Muhakanizi's body will depart for Kabula, Lyantonde district, where he will be laid to rest on Sunday.

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10:20 am  |   'Uganda mourns a great gem'

"Uganda mourns a great gem," tweets Vision Group's Editor-in-Chief, Barbara Kaija, in reference to an article in this week's Saturday Vision titled: THE LIFE BOOK OF ACCOUNTS CLOSES written by Mary Karugaba.

You can read the electronic version of the paper 👉🏽 HERE.

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10:17 am  |   Tune in to Urban TV for updates

The funeral service for the late Keith Muhakanizi will be conducted at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds in Uganda's capital Kampala.

Tune in to Vision Group's Urban TV for live coverage of the funeral service. You can also watch the coverage on the go via the ViDE (Vision Digital Experience) app or follow Vision Group's official platforms for updates.

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10:13 am  |   When Muhakanizi's body arrived home

Watch video footage posted by the Office of the Prime Minister on its Twitter page 👇🏽


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10:12 am  |   When Muhakanizi's body arrived home

As the fourth hour of Saturday approached, the Turkish Airlines plane carrying the body of Muhakanizi landed at Entebbe International Airport — at around 3:45am.

The Office of the Prime Minister tweeted that Muhakanizi's body was received by the widow, Janet Muhakanizi, and other family representatives, state internal affairs minister Gen. David Muhoozi and former Deputy Attorney General Mwesigwa Rukutana.

Click here for details on the early morning arrival.

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10:03 am  |   Welcome to our live text coverage

It is a wet Saturday morning in and around Kampala. When it rains in Kampala, it pours. And it has today. Welcome along to our live text coverage of the funeral service of the late Keith Muhakanizi, who died last Thursday (April 13) in a hospital in the Italian city of Milan.

Muhakanizi was the permanent secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), having previously served the same position in the finance ministry.

The funeral service is scheduled to take place at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds in Kampala, with President Yoweri Museveni gracing the function.