Uganda anthem composer ill
Sep 28, 2011
AS the 49th Independence Day celebrations get closer, the composer of the Uganda National Anthem, Professor George Wilberforce Kakoma, is bedridden.
By Herbert Ssempogo
AS the 49th Independence Day celebrations get closer, the composer of the Uganda National Anthem, Professor George Wilberforce Kakoma, is bedridden.
A music maestro, 88-year-old Kakoma suffered a stroke on August 10 and has not yet regained consciousness, according to his daughter, Maggi Kaddu Baliddawa.
Baliddawa said yesterday, that Kakoma was talking to attack struck, leaving him unable to talk or move. He feeds through a tube.
The octogenarian was then admitted to Nakasero Hospital’s intensive care unit for almost a week.
Thereafter, he was taken back to his daughter’s home in Kololo.
According to his wife, Maria Tereza, Kakoma has been unwell since February. Among the ailments that weakened him was high blood pressure and hernia.
New Vision yesterday learnt that between February 23 and March 4, he was admitted to Nsambya Hospital in Kampala. But on March 15, he was re-admitted to the hospital up to April 1.
Owing to his state, the family decided that he stays in Kololo instead of his home in Wakiso off Hoima Road, his 75-year-old wife disclosed.
At the time of the stroke, his wife was planning to take him back to Wakiso.
Kakoma’s last public appearance, according to Baliddawa, was on October 9, 2010 when he attended the Independence Day celebrations at Kololo Airstrip in Kampala.
“As we get closer to 50 years of independence, we would have loved to have his input as one of the founding fathers of the nation,†Baliddawa stated.
According to her, Kakoma’s history is part of Uganda’s “cultural heritage.†Uganda will next year mark 50 years since independence.
The Government, she said, has always invited her father to the annual event. However, for personal reasons, he would sometimes not attend.
This year’s celebrations will be held in Lira town.
In 1962, shortly before the British government relinquished power to Ugandans, advertisements were published in the Uganda Argus, a defunct newspaper, for interested people to compose the national anthem.
Kakoma beat five other composers in the competition.
Baliddawa described her father as an accomplished musician, who played both classical and African traditional instruments and was a talented organist.
AS the 49th Independence Day celebrations get closer, the composer of the Uganda National Anthem, Professor George Wilberforce Kakoma, is bedridden.
A music maestro, 88-year-old Kakoma suffered a stroke on August 10 and has not yet regained consciousness, according to his daughter, Maggi Kaddu Baliddawa.
Baliddawa said yesterday, that Kakoma was talking to attack struck, leaving him unable to talk or move. He feeds through a tube.
The octogenarian was then admitted to Nakasero Hospital’s intensive care unit for almost a week.
Thereafter, he was taken back to his daughter’s home in Kololo.
According to his wife, Maria Tereza, Kakoma has been unwell since February. Among the ailments that weakened him was high blood pressure and hernia.
New Vision yesterday learnt that between February 23 and March 4, he was admitted to Nsambya Hospital in Kampala. But on March 15, he was re-admitted to the hospital up to April 1.
Owing to his state, the family decided that he stays in Kololo instead of his home in Wakiso off Hoima Road, his 75-year-old wife disclosed.
At the time of the stroke, his wife was planning to take him back to Wakiso.
Kakoma’s last public appearance, according to Baliddawa, was on October 9, 2010 when he attended the Independence Day celebrations at Kololo Airstrip in Kampala.
“As we get closer to 50 years of independence, we would have loved to have his input as one of the founding fathers of the nation,†Baliddawa stated.
According to her, Kakoma’s history is part of Uganda’s “cultural heritage.†Uganda will next year mark 50 years since independence.
The Government, she said, has always invited her father to the annual event. However, for personal reasons, he would sometimes not attend.
This year’s celebrations will be held in Lira town.
In 1962, shortly before the British government relinquished power to Ugandans, advertisements were published in the Uganda Argus, a defunct newspaper, for interested people to compose the national anthem.
Kakoma beat five other composers in the competition.
Baliddawa described her father as an accomplished musician, who played both classical and African traditional instruments and was a talented organist.