Bunyoro-Kitara subjects mourn demise of kingdom speaker
Kalembe formerly worked with the Uganda Communication Commission as Media Relations Officer, at Vision Group as a journalist, and at Bunyoro Broadcasting Service radio in Masindi district as the manager.
Speaker (Omutaridwa) of the Rukurato, Isaac Kalembe, addresses the media after the meeting. (Photo by Peter Abaanabasazi)
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HOIMA — The Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom subjects are mourning the death of the kingdom’s parliament speaker (Omutalindwa of Orukurato), Isaac Kalembe Akiiki.
Born on October 12, 1968, in Dwoli Kitoba sub-county in Hoima district, Kalembe passed away on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, at around 12:00am at his home in Kampala.
Kalembe formerly worked with the Uganda Communication Commission as Media Relations Officer, at Vision Group as a journalist, and at Bunyoro Broadcasting Service radio in Masindi district as the manager.
Speaking to New Vision online on Tuesday, Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom Prime Minister Andrew Byakutaaga said Kalembe's family members told him that the deceased had been battling diabetes.
Byakutaaga noted that Kalembe was recently discharged from Kiruddu Hospital, where he had been receiving treatment, and he was supposed to return to the hospital for review on August 26, 2026, but his health deteriorated on Tuesday night.
He noted that the deceased served as speaker of the Kingdom's parliament (Omutalindwa of Orukurato) from October 2018 up to October 2023. He was the last speaker of Bunyoro kitara Kingdom’s parliament after the tenure of Orukurato expired and the Omukama, Solomon Gafabusa Iguru, was not able to appoint a new one because of his ill health.
According to Byakutaga, Kalembe professionally conducted Orukurato sessions during which several development plans and laws were enacted.
He also described him as a historian who wrote several books regarding the history of Bunyoro and the life and legacy of Omukama Kabalega.
Byakutaaga described the deceased as a Munyoro who loved his culture and language, adding that he was good at writing Runyoro and teaching the Runyoro language.
Byakutaaga revealed that owing to the fact that Kalemba had a rich history about King Kabalega, it earned him a connection with President Yoweri Museveni.
“When the deceased produced a book concerning the life and legacy of Omukama Kabalega, President Museveni got interested and called me seeking to know about the author of the book. I shared the phone contact of Kalembe with the President and he contacted Kalembe. It is with deep sorrow that I inform President Museveni and the Prime Minister, Robinnah Nabbanja, about the demise of our son,” said Byakutaaga.
Nyabongo Ochaki, a former member of the last Orukurato, described Kalembe as a good writer who loved to document the history of Bunyoro.
He added that Kalembe advocated for the development of Bunyoro in areas of education, adding that he has been one of the Kingdom's leaders who advocated for creation of Bunyoro university.
Sharon Kobusinge, a radio presenter at Kabalega FM radio, who worked with the deceased at Bunyoro Broadcasting Service in Masindi district, described Kalembe as a person who was kind, loving and patient.
“Kalembe was our station manager, but he was down to earth. He would try to correct us whenever one would make a mistake instead of rebuking us,” Kobusinge said.