Museveni mourns Kitaka, unveils Olubengo monument

Apr 16, 2014

President Museveni on Tuesday unveiled a monument built by Sam Peter Kitaka at Nyenga sub-county headquarters to commemorate the 1996 successful campaigns.

By Charles Kakamwa

President Museveni on Tuesday unveiled a monument built by Sam Peter Kitaka at Nyenga sub-county headquarters to commemorate the 1996 successful campaigns.

This was during the burial of the late Kitaka who passed away last Friday having been unwell for three months.

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Kitaka's remains are lowered into his final resting place as Museveni looks on

The 69-year-old in 1996 gave President Museveni the grinding stone (olubengo) that became synonymous with his successful presidential bid.

Museveni explained that “Olubengo” for which Kitaka was popular, was his (Museveni’s) idea. He said he coined the term while addressing supporters at the then Uganda International Conference Centre in Kampala soon after his nomination for the 1996 elections.

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Museveni poses for a group photo with family and relatives of the late Kitaka

“In my speech, I made reference to the grinding stone (Olubengo) after I realised that some people were fighting for leadership, thinking it was a ‘privilege’. I realised that there was a likelihood of leadership losing its meaning,” he said.

“I explained that families had grinding stones, which they would carry across rivers. They would assign the task to someone, but this had to be done carefully because if this person drowned, he would drown with the olubengo, yet it belonged to the entire family,” the President added.

“Kitaka translated these ideas into action. He looked for a grinding stone (which are very scarce nowadays) and performed that
historic ceremony when I came to campaign in Nyenga,” Museveni observed.

Kitaka died at a private hospital in Kampala on Friday, aged 71 of multiple organ failure, according to family members. The late Kitaka studied accountancy and worked as an auditor with the Uganda Army and British American Tobacco in Jinja, before retiring into politics.

From 1992 to 2001, he served as Nyenga LC3 chairman. As district councillor for Nyenga sub-county, Kitaka served as Mukono district speaker between 2001 and 2006.
 

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