Family sets Nebanda's burial for Sunday

By John Masaba and Daniel Edyegu

After days of wrangling, the family of fallen Butalega Women Member of Parliament, Cerinah Nebanda, has decided that she will be laid to rest on Sunday.

Nebanda died last Friday under unclear circumstances.

Emmanuel Dombo (MP for Bunyole East) told New Vision after lengthy consultations, the family have finally decided to go ahead with the burial regardless of what happens at Parliament.

Although the burial for the MP was slated to take place on Wednesday, Parliament on Tuesday stopped her burial after hours of a heated debate over who might have ended the life of the 24-year-old legislator.

Dombo said the family had told him that regardless of what happens in Parliament they would proceed with burial the arrangements on Sunday starting at 10:00 am in Butaleja at the home of her parents.

“They told me that they are no longer interested in finding out who the killer of Nebanda is because they already know,” he said.

Dombo said the family are convinced with Dr. Sylvester Onzivua’s explanation that no conclusive investigations can now be done on the body of the MP because samples extracted from the body at this point cannot yield any good results.

“The doctor said that after the body has been treated with formalin, finding good results is very expensive and difficult,” he said.

Jacob Wangolo (Bunyole West) said the district authorities would convene a special meeting on Saturday to pay tribute to the departed MP.

“The session will begin at 9:00am and end at 11:00am after which the Anglican Church will take over,” he said.

However, when contacted, the Butalega LCV chairperson, Joseph Muyonjo, said it was unclear whether the MP would be honoured because of the time constraints.

“We expect the body might not arrive until late on Friday. It is going to be difficult to take the body from the local wanainchi who have been waiting for all these days to cast their last eyes on their fallen heroine,” he said.

He added that the Local Government rules don’t permit the district to convene a special session over the weekend. “We are consulting with Minister Adolf Mwesige to see if we can be given a go ahead,” he said.

Meanwhile, a somber cloud is hanging in Butalega as the district mourns the death of their legislator. Residents who have camped at her parents’ home said the death of Nebanda is great loss.

“When we heard Nebanda was dead we thought it was her mother. She was full of life. An energetic lady who was devoted to serving Butalega. It is a great loss,” said one resident.

Nebanda is said to have constructed, Budumba Secondary School, to help the disadvantaged and orphaned in the district. Barely two days before she died, she sent money to Butalega to complete the plastering of the school.

“We have many MPs in Butaleja, but none has done more than Nebanda,” said the resident.

Mzee Hirya Yonasan, Nebanda’s grandfather said he has lost great friend.

“I called her at 1:00pm to ask if she was coming. She said she was in a meeting, but she would call later. At 7:00pm that day, she was dead. Who will laugh and nurse me the way Nebanda did?” he said.

Wasoko Ednand, her Uncle dispelled rumors swirling around that Nebanda’s successor had been agreed upon. He said the clan would meet and agree on who would step in Nebanda’s shoes.