Museveni’s Mother Buried In Rwakitura

Nov 16, 2001

PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has said parents must prioritise girl’s education because they have a significant contribution to development.

By Anne Mugisa PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has said parents must prioritise girl’s education because they have a significant contribution to development. Museveni was yesterday addressing thousands of mourners at the funeral service of his mother, Esteri Kokundeka, at Rushere Church. The service was led by Archbishop Livingstone Nkoyooyo. Special prayers were said by Museveni’s sister, Dr. Violet Kajubiri, and by Museveni’s wife Janet. Museveni said girls are resolute, like his mother, to foster change and development. He said Esteri was named Kokundeka because his father resented her at birth because she was the third girl in a row. The rejected girl, Museveni said, however, fought for the education of her children. She solely educated his sister Kajubiri after their father refused to take her to school after a polio attack, Museveni said. He said Kajubiri now holds a Phd in Zoology. “This girl Kokundeka who was going to be dumped at birth by her father in 1917, wasn’t a bad investment,” Museveni said. He said his mother together with a few people her age were crusaders for emancipation through enlightenment. He said his people in Ankole, especially the pastoralists, were held backward by drunkenness, ignorance, arrogance, and promiscuity. He said his mother and her group embarked on a five-point programme to oppose the five evils that had plagued their society. He said their people were like the Karimojong, but now they have embraced the ideals of the crusaders. He said most of Kokundeka’s age group had died. He said his mother built bridges between people and the community. He said because of that Kokundeka had known and influenced many people to know God. He said his mother was so headstrong that she never allowed even her husband to bulldoze her. Museveni commended his brother, Lt. Gen. Salim Saleh, for caring for their mother since they returned from the bush. Museveni said his mother suffered under Obote’s regime. He said under the orders of Chris Rwakasisi her house was blown up with an RPG. “Rwakasisi, the one who is waiting for me to forgive him,” Museveni said. Rwakasisi is on death row at Luzira. Saleh said his mother was preoccupied with prayer for peace in Uganda. He broke down in church and apologised for crying in public. He said he was devastated by the death as he was his mother’s boy. Ends

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