Nakibinge praises Amin's former press secretary

 

Njuki who has been battling diabetes and kidney ailments for a while, had been admitted at Case Hospital, Kampala, where he breathed his last on Wednesday. 

 

Survived by several children, Njuki was laid to rest yesterday at his ancestral home in Buikwe district. Earlier, prayers were held for the deceased at Kibuli Mosque, where several speakers including, Prince Kassim Nakibinge, eulogised him. 

 

Nakibinge, said the deceased will be greatly missed as an Islamic scholar and a father figure who contributed to the development of the Islamic religion.

 

"His departure has left a very big vacuum. Njuki had a great sense of humour and many people visited and consulted him on developmental issues even on his death bed," he said. 

 

Nakibinge observed that the deceased who in the 1970s served then government of Amin, did so diligently and with utmost faith.

 

 However, Nakibinge urged the Government to inject more resources into the health sector so that Ugandans would be able to access free and affordable treatment.

 "It is very expensive right now for people to access quality medical facilities. On average we have been spending over sh2m on a daily basis to keep the deceased in the intensive care unit," he said.

 

Buganda deputy premier Twaha Kawaase said the deceased has been an asset to Kibuli Secondary School. 

 

"He has always been available to help the school in all its developmental programmes, including advising management on how to maintain the school as an icon in the education sector," he said.

 

He noted that as a kingdom, they had lost an elder who has always guided them as they serve the Kabaka. "As Buganda Kingdom we shall miss him and it is God who gave him to us and it is Him who has taken his dear life," Kawaase said.

 

Supreme Mufti Sheikh Suliman Kasule Ndirangwa eulogised Njuki as a God-fearing person who served the Islamic religion with dedication above self.

 

"As a Muslim community, we shall miss his guidance, humour and hard work towards the development of religion in the country," Ndirangwa said.

 

Njuki, who was once speaker of Mukono district, played a big role, together with the district chair, Kiwanuka Musisi, in ensuring that people of Kayunga get their own district status. 

 

"I would credit him for playing a big role of ensuring that Mukono, which was then among the biggest districts in the country got divided into two - Kayunga and Mukono," former councilor, Joseph Kitimbo said. 

 

An old friend, Omar Kalinge-Nnyago, said: "A personal loss, but more so of the Kibuli Old Students fraternity that had embarked on writing the memoirs of the deceased. Very sad I cannot be present to send him off. May Allah forgive his shortcomings and accept his good deeds. Ameen. I have never known a man so full of positive energy and forthright in dealings like Haji Njuki." 

 

The deceased, got many friends, but also enemies too. He was once incarcerated with his colleagues, during Amin's era for airing on National Television then UTV, a film that was likely to cause misunderstanding between Uganda friendly countries.  

 

"I was incarcerated by then the President Amin after we allowed to air a film that was talking about former presidents of Uganda and government officials. To him this would cause harm to our friendly neibouring countries," Njuki told journalists several years ago. 

 

However, after spending sometime in incarceration, Njuki and three of his colleagues were pardoned and resumed their duties. Njuki who joined ministry of Information and broadcasting in 1968 as junior information officer rose up to become the president's principal press secretary during Amin's era. 

 

He fondly always talked of his former boss, Amin as good listener and willing to learn. Njuki who served twice as district speaker in early 2000s was once disqualified as candidate for the Mukono district chair, by the Electoral Commission (EC), However, he hit back at the EC for not giving him chance to present all his qualifications.

 

 Njuki was born in 1947 in Buikwe district and studied at Makarere College School for junior education, before joining Kibuli Senior Secondary School. After Kibuli in 1968, he joined the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting as an assistant information officer. 

 

He also got various on job-trainings in the UK, where he attained a Cambridge School Certificate of Education and a diploma in Journalism and Media Studies from the London School of Journalism.