wfn.org | Uganda: Veteran Adventist Statesman Dies

["Christian B. Schäffler" <APD_Info_Schweiz@compuserve.com>]

November 2, 1999
Adventist Press Service (APD)
Christian B. Schaeffler, Editor-in-chief
Fax +41-61-261 61 18
APD@stanet.ch
http://www.stanet.ch/APD
CH-4003 Basel, Switzerland

Uganda: Veteran Adventist Statesman Dies

London, United Kingdom. (APD)    Seventh-day Adventist 
statesman Dr. Samson Babi Mululu Kisekka, former Ugandan 
vice president, died October 25 in a London hospital.  
The 87-year-old politician from this central African 
country also served as prime minister, health minister 
and political advisor in a varied career spanning 40 years.  
Known as "the great physician" for his campaign to 
heal political and racial divisions in Uganda, Kisekka's 
work was marked by an emphasis on greater government 
accountability and a concern for the rights of ordinary 
people.

Kisekka died of a heart attack at University College 
Hospital, London, where he was awaiting heart surgery. 
His body was flown back to Uganda and he was buried 
October 31 at his ancestral home of Ttemamgalo, near 
the Ugandan capital of Kampala.  The funeral service, 
held at Najjanankumbi Adventist Church, was attended by 
the president of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, along with 
members of his cabinet, representatives from the 
diplomatic corp and judiciary, and other political 
and religious leaders.  

"With the passing away of Dr. Samson Kisekka, the 
nation has lost a strong, reliable and rich fountain 
of wisdom," said Justice Minister Mayanja Nkangi, as 
reported by the Ugandan paper, New Vision. "Dr. Kisekka's 
outstanding role, as prime minister and as vice president, 
is an open record for everyone.  Even as the senior 
presidential advisor, Dr. Kisekka carried on his crusade 
for good governance, personnel advancement and national 
development." Nkangi said that Kisekka has been "a great 
nationalist and leader who was always ready to guide, 
to encourage and to warn."

Along with his political achievements, Kisekka was also 
remembered as a principled and caring Christian man who 
lived his faith. "He was a man of God, [an] active and 
committed Seventh-day Adventist Christian who believed in 
respect for one another," said current vice president 
Specioza Wandira Kazibwe during a special parliamentary 
session held October 30 to honor Kisekka. 

Born in 1912, Kisekka first studied medicine at Makerere 
Medical School and practiced as a surgeon before entering 
Ugandan politics.  He helped found the National Resistance 
Movement, which led to a change in government in 1985.  
Kisekka was appointed prime minister in 1986 and later 
served as vice president from 1989 to 1994.

During Sunday's funeral service, Kisekka's son, Samson 
Kisekka, Jr., paid tribute to his father as someone who 
taught his children, first and foremost, to "work hard 
and to love each other."