The proprietor of MK Publishers Ltd, Dr Samuel Majwega, will be laid to rest on Sunday (today) at Senge village in Wakiso district.

Majwega died on June 25 at the age of 63, just days after being operated on for intestinal obstruction in the US state of Louisiana.

There will be a burial service at 10:00am at Kungu in Matugga, near Kampala and his body will then be taken to the burial ground in Senge where it will be lowered into the grave at 4:00pm.

Mourners were advised by the management of MK Publishers Ltd together with the family of the late Wilson Lutakome, who was the father of the deceased, to adhere to the standard operating procedures meant to combat the spread of COVID-19 during the burial such as social distancing, washing hands and sanitizing regularly.

Yesterday July 16, the body, which arrived at Entebbe International Airport on July 15, left his home in Konge, Buziga in Makindye Division to Kawuku Church of Uganda in Ggaba, a Kampala suburb, for a service at 11:00am.

Eulogised

Charles Batambuze, the executive secretary of National Book Trust of Uganda, told New Vision recently that the news of Majwega’s death shocked him.

“I also panicked because of the velocity with which it (news) hit my emotions. The last time he met Majwega physically was April 11, 2022.  On this day, I made my way to MK Book House on Entebbe road, to have lunch with him in his office. I found Majwega had been waiting for me for a long time, having been delayed by Entebbe Road lunchtime traffic,” he recalled.

He said they then dived right into a conversation on a current dilemma over the mandate of the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC) concerning educational books that has divided publishers. Batambuze said his late friend’s view was that the system for evaluation of textbooks needed to change.

He noted that every time there's a bid to write and develop curriculum books, 10 to 20 publishers invest in the process. However, only three books (publishers) get selected meaning the majority of the bidders lose the investment, Batambuze said.

He stated that this has been happening year after year. “His solution (was that) let the three winners go ahead to supply the advertised tender."

"However, NCDC should open doors to enable those that didn't make it to improve their book to the required standard, get NCDC approval and distribute the book on the open market."

"This proposal he said had sparked a huge debate amongst publishers,” Batambuze said in a message he posted on his Facebook page.

He said Majwega was due to fix an appointment for him to meet NCDC director Grace Baguma so he could listen to her side too.

“This hasn't happened but I will still look her up. We then discussed copyright protection, holograms and countrywide inspection visits. I will miss him,” he wrote.

He also recalled that in 2015/16, MK Publishers contributed towards his campaign success. “I wanted to become MP for Busiki County but my bid was unsuccessful on account of many factors. Indeed when I returned, Majwega counseled me and I resettled back into my roles in the book industry,” he said. 

 Batambuze thanked God for enabling him to learn from the late how to be resilient. “May God rest him in eternal peace,” he prayed.

UNCCI also shocked

Olive Kigongo, the president of the UNCCI, told New Vision that they were also in a state of shock after hearing the sad news of Majwega’s death.

“We are still in shock as UNCCI.  I chatted with him from Seoul (the capital of South Korea) on Tuesday (June 21) where I had just arrived and he told me he had undergone intestinal obstruction surgery in Louisiana,” she said in a WhatsApp message she sent on the plane back home.

Olive then said she wished Majwega a quick recovery and asked him to keep her updated on his progress in treatment on Thursday.

“I texted him asking how he was feeling, but no answer; it never occurred to me that it was very serious! I’m still in denial because he was full of life, a very successful businessman but extremely humble,” she noted.

She said they have lost a man full of wisdom, very calm and a committed board member UNCCI. In spite of his busy schedule, he always made time for UNCCI. I had virtually left him to handle matters of the institution and which are not easy. I can only wish his soul to rest in eternal peace,” Olive prayed.

Majwega has also served as director in the UNCCI, a major link that brings Ugandan businessmen and women to counterparts in other countries to exploit opportunities abound.

Tragic news

Dr James Tumusiime, the managing director of Fountain Publishers, also told New Vision on June 27 that they were saddened by the tragic news of Majwega’s death.

“It’s a tragic for our industry and I think for his family and Uganda at large. He was among the first soldiers I recruited in our war against foreign domination of the publishing industry in Uganda,” Mzee Tumusiime, who also chairs Uganda Broadcasting Corporation, said.

He also recalled that he and the late Majwega were the first two local publishers who were accepted to supply books to the ministry of education.

“And we have moved together since 1993 when the policy was adopted to allow local publishers to compete with their foreign counterparts. We have weathered similar storms; faced the challenges of the publishing industry together,” Tumusiime noted.

In 2000, it became an official government policy for all government-aided schools to use books from bookshops in their respective districts.

He also noted that they were able to gain a foothold in the outside markets. “He has left a big legacy and a vacuum at the top,” he remarked.

The publishing firms founded under the MK brand name are: MK Publishers Ltd, the mother company in Uganda; MK Publishers (R) Ltd in Rwanda; MK Publishers Ltd in Zambia; MK Publishers Kenya Ltd, MK SEG, Burundi, MK Publishers Tanzania Ltd and MK Publishers, Ethiopia.

MK Publishers sales and marketing manager, Robert Mulumba, said as a firm, they will miss their boss so much.

“By the time he started this company we didn’t have strong local publishing firms around. By that time Ugandans were using books published by multinationals. So his local publishing firm helped this nation because now the learners are using books published by local publishers and written by local authors who understand the classroom situation in Uganda,” he said.

Mulumba also said the late publisher was instrumental in promoting the use of locally published books and rallying key players in the publishing industry together.

What family says

Majwega’s brother, Ronald Kironde, did not divulge details of the late’s personal life, only saying he was a strong pillar of the family. “He is an irreplaceable person,” he said.

His profile

Batambuze said Majwega, who was holding a master’s degree in business administration (management) from Nkumba University, was a businessman, entrepreneur and an educationist of high standing who taught in several schools before managing many education related ventures. 

He was the chief executive director of a group of publishing companies founded in seven East and Central African countries under the auspices of MK Publishers Ltd, a local publishing firm in Uganda.

The publishing firms founded under the MK brand name are: MK Publishers Ltd, the mother company in Uganda; MK Publishers (R) Ltd in Rwanda; MK Publishers Ltd in Zambia; MK Publishers Kenya Ltd, MK SEG, Burundi, MK Publishers Tanzania Ltd and MK Publishers, Ethiopia.

He was elected the chairman of the Uganda Publishers Association (UPA) in 2016.  Earlier, he was the Vice Chairman of UPA, a national association upholding the standards of book publishing in the country, from 1993 to 1996 and deputy secretary general 1989 to 1992.

Batambuze noted that Majwega’s avidity for education had soared into the position of the president of Avance International University in which he was a founder member.

He said Majwega was also a director in Axial International College that offers international education in Uganda at affordable cost.

He had also founded other companies in the realms of education, notably, MK Crown Academy, WR Consultant which links students to over 159 universities in the world and MK General School Supplies Ltd.

Majwega was also the founder of SDM Properties (U) Ltd, a property development company in Uganda, and the winner of the Uganda Businessman of the Year Award 2000 and also winner of the 2003 International Award for Excellence and Business Prestige, New York.

He was also president of the Rotary Club of Bunga and chairman of Mubende Farmers Association from 1989 to 1992.