I.K. Musaazi jailed 37 times in pursuit of independence
Jun 09, 2012
FEW people today have the charisma and bravery of Ignatius Kangave Musaazi, who fought for the independence of Ugandans and formed the country’s first political party. It is not by accident that when he died, the government declared him a national hero and he was buried at Kololo National Grounds.
By Kizito Musoke
FEW people today have the charisma and bravery of Ignatius Kangave Musaazi, who fought for the independence of Ugandans and formed the country’s first political party. It is not by accident that when he died, the government declared him a national hero and he was buried at Kololo National Grounds.
There are only two people buried at the grounds. The other one is former president Yusuf Kironde Lule.
Musaazi’s name seems to have died with him. His family is barely known and none of them has stepped into his shoes to uphold his legacy in politics.
Musaazi was born in Timuna, a village off Wobulenzi on the Kampala-Gulu highway. According to his wife, Mary Ritah Nansikombi, Musaazi was jailed 37 times in his pursuit of Uganda’s independence. At what used to be Musaazi’s home, there is a banana plantation. His house was burnt during the 1980-86 war which brought the National Resistance Movement to power.
Edward Musaazi, his heir, says if the Government had not buried him at Kololo, Musaazi would have been buried opposite this plantation, in an ancestral graveyard next to an abandoned house.
Family
Six of Musaazi’s 11 children are still alive but none has been successful in politics. Edward tried to contest for the chair of Nakaseke and Kaasang’ombe sub-counties between 1993 and 2006 and failed to win both times.
A daughter, Elizabeth, ran for Woman MP for Nakaseke district in 2011, but was defeated by Rosemary Namayanja.
Grandchildren who preferred anonymity said stories about their grandfather discouraged them from joining politics. Their grandfather was rich, but his property was destroyed by his opponents.
Edward says he still gets government recognition as a VIP when he is invited to State functions, especially at Kololo. He describes his father as the politician who never ruled and a nationalist who sacrificed his property for the liberation of Ugandans.
Musaazi died a poor man in 1990 at Namirembe Hospital. He was 85. Some relatives said some of his land titles are being held by a bank and the issue is “being handled by the Government.”
Who was Ignatius Kangave Musaazi?
His parents were Edward Kangave Nankyama and Mariam Nakawungu. Nankyama was a gombolola chief.
Musaazi attended Kings’ College Budo, after which he got a scholarship to study divinity in Britain. When he completed his studies, the British stopped him from graduating, saying he had to graduate from his own country.
Musaazi returned from Britain a disappointed man and shunned all church activities. He decided to join politics instead.
He formed the Uganda African Farmers Union in 1945, through which he opposed the low price of cotton and coffee being paid by the Indians.
Musaazi allied with other Ugandans across the country like Otema Alimadi (Gulu), Cathbert Obwangor (Teso), G.W Magezi (Bunyoro) and others in eastern Uganda. He was among the leaders of rebellion Number 9, against the prices of coffee and cotton.
He wanted Ugandans to stop buying commodities from Indians, and when Indians realised how bad the situation had become, they started selling off their ginneries and coffee processing plants to Ugandans.
This gave Ugandans more control over trade in the country and many started purchasing vehicles from abroad, due to increased incomes.
He formed the first political party, the Uganda National Congress (UNC), with the aim of liberating the country from colonialists. By the time Uganda got independence in 1962, Musaazi’s party had been fragmented into different factions and was no longer popular.
When Obote captured power in 1966, he appointed Musaazi to head the Uganda Land Commission until 1971 when Amin overthrew him. Since then Musaazi never served in any public office until he died.