A family that gave for freedom

Saturday June 9 was Heroes Day. Joan Mugenzi traced the family of the late Edward Mugalu, who shared with her their experiences during the NRM struggle. IT can be sickening for people who have a home to have to keep on searching for safe shelter. But this is what happened to many of the family members of the celebrated heroes of this country. The late Edward Mugalu is one of those people known to have supported the bush war. As he made the move, his family was on its toes trying to find accommodation under different people's roofs. The main residence in Mpererwe was deserted. And the children lived with relatives. "I led a difficult life. I did not even have my children with me because I was staying with various people. We did not have a proper home," reflects Ema Mugalu, one of the late Mugalu's wives. "When you think of it, what we used to call home was a deserted place. No one was staying in the house," says Janet Nabigavu Njuki, Mugalu's daughter. "Whenever we got holidays, we would stay with grandma, who was staying near Budo Junior (our school), but without knowing the reason why. I remember I was in P.4 and I thought the reason we were staying with her was that she was living near school," she adds. Relatives kept on moving in and out of Mugalu's Mpererwe house. The entire neighbourhood had Mugalu's relatives. They comprised a small village of their own. This meant that the area became easy prey for whoever they considered an enemy. The children recall that quite often, they had an aunt, an uncle or any other relative being taken to jail. All the while, Mugalu was on the run. "I kept wondering why they were looking for daddy. In most cases, I thought they were after his money. I had no clue what dad was doing until now. I have never known what role he played apart from hearing people say that he helped Museveni," says Judith Nakasi Sserunkuma, also Mugalu's daughter. "The then government suspected that he was sponsoring guerillas, so he was put in jail a number of times. When he went to exile (in Nairobi), he started sponsoring them. He set up a shop in Nairobi where they would collect whatever he had in store for them," says Ema. Samson Kyamagwa, 60, Mugalu's younger brother, says his late brother helped the guerillas because he knew they were people who would help him. "He realised Museveni was very serious, so he decided to support them," says Kyamagwa, adding that they gave so much money in supporting the guerillas that "only God knows how much it was." Mugalu was a rich businessman of his time. While business was a preoccupation of the Asians, he was one of the few Ugandans who would import goods. During one of such times he imported a plane full of items. This time, those in power became so nosy. They wanted to find out where he got all his money. Before he knew it, Mugalu landed in jail at Jinja Road Police Station. Ben Bella Illakut, a trainer at The New Vision, who was in prison with Mugalu at the time, remembers him vividly: "He was crest fallen," says Illakut. "He was always looking down. I think he was thinking of how to escape. I advised him to bribe his way out because this was a reign of terror. I understand that is what he did," adds Illakut. Mugalu's property was not left unattended. Soldiers from Masaka went to Mugalu's Kwata Farm on Mityana road and made do with the 250 Friesan Cows. The rest of the family fled empty-handed. Kwata Farm was considered a strategic place because it was surrounded by forests and the Government was aware that guerillas operated in forests. Ema recalls Mugalu taking men to the farm. "There is a time he (Mugalu), came with some men and said they had come to mend the fence. They would disappear during the night. I suspect they had come to inspect the different routes that could be used in the nearby forests," she says. Kyamagwa says many of their relatives ended up in jail at the time. They wanted them to say where Mugalu was, but no one would tell them the place. But did the family think the struggle was worth it? "It was a tricky moment. We just prayed for them because you never knew what would come out of the struggle. I was very happy when they achieved their goal," responds Ema. Kyamagwa shares the same sentiments: "It was difficult to judge whether something fruitful would come out," he says. "The people in power at the time were strong. It was hard for one to think that someone would easily oust them," elaborates Kyamagwa. Mugalu loved the bush war so much that he gave his own sons to participate in the struggle. In one of the visits that Mugalu's children paid him in Nairobi, he talked his sons into joining the bush war. They did. Unfortunately, two of them, Fred Kyobe and Dan Sembeguya, died in the war. Mugalu's children always had to join him in exile in Nairobi for Christmas. However, this was a family secret. "Whenever we were going to visit daddy for Christmas, we were not supposed to say where we were going. Any big person travelling with us would answer any questions fired at us," Janet recalls her childhood memories. Mugalu's heir, George Sembeguya Mugalu, who was resident in the UK during the bush war, did not know what exactly was going on at home. "When I asked about my brothers, they told me they had gone to India to study, yet they were with daddy in Nairobi and eventually joined the resistance. I learnt of the move when I saw my brother Sembeguya in a picture in one of the newspapers," says George. When Museveni finally took over power in 1986, Mugalu's village suddenly stabilised. He too came back home to continue as a businessman and even attempted local politics. At one time, Mugalu served as LCIII vice chairman in Kawempe division. Kyamagwa states Mugalu died a discontented man: "He died in debts and Government failed to intervene. He needed help from Government so they could convince the East African Development Bank people give them time to settle their bills. Eventually, most of the business ventures he had accumulated were lost to the bank," states Kyamagwa. He is the director of Edward Mugalu shop on Luwum Street, the only business remaining of the many businesses they once had. Sadly, Mugalu was killed by highway robbers in 1991 at Lugogo. Kyamagwa says the robbers thought Mugalu had money on him, which was not the case. "Though he was considered a rich man, he never travelled with money in his car," he says of his brother. ends