Is Benedicto Kiwanuka Uganda's greatest hero?

By Moses Mulondo

Uganda’s political history, especially the politics of the events that unfolded before independence, would be incomplete without Benedicto Kiwanuka, who rose from a poverty-stricken family to emerge as one of Uganda’s outstanding political stars. Kiwanuka was the first prime minister of the pre-independent Uganda.  

Born on May 8, 1922 in Kisabwa, now Bukomansimbi district, Kiwanuka made exceptional contribution to Uganda’s independence, which compels some people to even propose him to be recognised as the father of the nation of Uganda.

Kiwanuka was the third son of Fulgensio Musoke Kawesi, son of Kakeeto Namugera of the Mutima (heart) clan. His mother was called Eularia Nalubowa of the Ngo (Leopard) clan. Kiwanuka was brought up in a hostile environment, his father having been a polygamist. Although Kiwanuka’s father was not a devoted Catholic, he encouraged his family members to become Catholics.

By the time Kiwanuka went to school at the age of 12, he had already completed catechism and was already a devout Catholic.  He went to Villa Maria Primary School in Masaka before joining St. Peter’s Nsambya Primary School in 1939, where he completed his primary education. He then went St. Peter’s Secondary School in 1940, where he studied with notables like former Vice-President Paul Muwanga and Kalure Ssetaala, a minister in Obote’s two regimes.

He married Maxencia Zalwango, from Buwekula in Mubende, whose father Noah Kirya was a Munyoro prince of the Bachwezi dynasty. Their wedding was held on February 18, 1947 in Kitovu Catholic Church.

On completion of his studies, Kiwanuka joined the King’s African Rifles. He rose to the rank of sergeant major and participated in World War II. On returning from the war front, he worked as an interpreter at the High Court of Uganda before enrolling for a law course in Lesotho between 1950 and 1952.

Thereafter, he attended University College London from 1952 to 1956. He was admitted to the Bar Association at Gray’s Inn, London in February 1956.

He privately practised law in Uganda between 1956 and 1959, while at the same time participating in various undertakings for the realisation of Uganda’s self-rule.

Whereas many Baganda regarded him a traitor for his objection to Buganda’s federal demands in favour of a unitary government for Uganda, Kiwanuka had love for Buganda kingdom.

In 1953, when the Buganda King Sir Edward Mutesa II was deported to Britain over his demand for Buganda’s self-rule, Kiwanuka was among those who vehemently criticised the act.

Kiwanuka said: “This blatant show of force, arrogance and pride will never gain lasting achievement. The people of Britain should clearly understand that we have been wronged and our whole country greatly slighted by this arbitrary removal of our beloved ruler and that unless their leaders change their minds and re-instate Mutesa II on the throne of Buganda, they are helping in the darkening of our future to a degree beyond human imagination.”  By that time, Kiwanuka was the general secretary of the Uganda Students’ Association in London. 

On August 1958, DP members from all the regions of Uganda convened in Tororo for their annual general delegates’ conference during which Benedicto Kiwanuka was elected the president general. Kiwanuka overwhelmingly won the election with 103 out of 114 votes.

In his bid for the unification of Uganda and deepening democracy, Kiwunuka met a lot of hostility from the Mengo establishment led by then Katikkiro Michael Kintu, who made it a continuous mission to move around Buganda decampaigning DP and Kiwanuka as Buganda’s worst enemies who ought to be rejected. 

Kiwanuka openly criticised the selfish ills of the Mengo establishment, which had caused the suffering of the ordinary Baganda.

He attacked Kintu’s administration for dividing Baganda, isolating Buganda from the rest of the country through intransigent demands, squandering of kingdom funds for the benefit of a few Mengo officials and luck of transparency in the management of public funds as well as Mengo’s demand for indirect elections, which is counter-democracy.

As a result of the September 1961 Uganda Constitutional Conference held in London, Uganda achieved internal self-government on March 1, 1962 and Benedicto Kiwanuka became Uganda’s first Prime Minister in the new National Assembly. However, new elections were held in April 1962, and Kiwanuka’s party lost to an alliance of Milton Obote’s Uganda People’s Congress and the Buganda traditionalist party, Kabaka Yekka.

Although Uganda achieved independence with Obote as the first Prime Minister, Kiwanuka remained leader of the opposition until 1969 when Obote imprisoned him. He was released with the rest of the political prisoners following Idi Amin coup of 1971. Amin later appointed Kiwanuka as Uganda’s Chief Justice although the two shortly fell apart for opposing Amin’s disregard of the rule of law. Although he was warned to flee the country, he refused. He was eventually pulled from his chambers by Amin’s forces and murdered on September 22, 1972. 

In his book, Benedicto Kiwanuka; The man and his politics, Albert Bade concludes that Kiwanuka is the greatest man in the history of Uganda, basing on his unique political stature anchored on the values of honesty, justice and advancing the common good of the nation as opposed to the politics of opportunism, which has characterised most of Uganda’s politicians. 

What senior Ugandans think of  Benedicto Kiwanuka

Former Prime Minister Prof. Apolo Nsibambi

Kiwanuka was a very courageous chief justice of Uganda. At a time when the country was led by an ignorant and brutal leader Idi Amin, Kiwanuka stood his ground and made judgments in an impartial way and he lost his life. As a political leader, I think he led his party in an honest manner. Although he lost elections because of his principles, the principles he promoted are extremely important and those principles must guide the governance of our polity.

Veteran journalist John Nagenda:  I found him a very unsympathetic character in the way that he carried himself. Of course he did his best. But one of the things Baganda could not easily forget is when he said dismissively that “Yes, the Kabaka is known to me.” This was interpreted to mean that he was above the Kabaka. For the Baganda of that time, that was not a good statement. I am sorry about his end.

FDC’s Ssemujju Ibrahim Nganda

I am proud of Ben Kiwanuka for having risked his life for what he believed was the best for the country. Unlike many other learned politicians, Kiwanuka refused to run away from the problems of his country until he was killed. He acts as an inspiration to us that some people must sacrifice themselves for the good of the others.

Veteran politician Jaberi Bidandi Ssali, who joined UPC in the early 1960s

He is one of the leaders we used to admire, especially when Uganda’s independence constitution was being created. He will be remembered for fighting for a united Uganda. He had a national outlook and a national focus. He did not use politics to pursue his selfish interests like enriching himself.