EVIDENCE Part 1: IS MUGISHA MUNTU INDEED THE REAL ‘CHANGE YOU CAN TRUST’?

Do you know General Mugisha Muntu? Well, he is the guy who now should be famous for the words, the ‘change you can trust‘! Seriously, Muntu’s campaigns or, better put, Alliance for National Transformation (ANT), the party he officially founded on 19th March 2019, rides on this one selling point: value driven organization with capable and trustworthy leaders delivering a change you can trust! (see more on ANT website).

The party’s core message is summarized in these words: ‘The Alliance is a people-centred, value-based party that believes in the institutionalisation of political processes as a key to unlocking democracy in Uganda. Because you cannot give what you do not have, we are committed to not only talking about our beliefs, but practicing them internally‘ (see here at ANT website). These guys seem to have sold that message well; anyone who knows ANT or Muntu generally knows their stand; peaceful, calm, organized guys with character ready to ‘systematically’ take over the leadership of Uganda!

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Wait! The above is just a description of who they are, isn’t it? Well, the better question is, are they? Is General Muntu, the party’s flagbearer running for presidency, a man whose ‘change you can trust’? We aren’t the first one to ask the question. Many have asked the same question, and, every time it is asked, Muntu’s reply is one: ‘Yes, examine our track record‘. I think he is right! We aren’t gods, I mean, we aren’t God, and, therefore, we cannot see the future, right? However, a careful analysis of the past can give us a glimpse into Mugisha Muntu’s faithfulness and discipline. So, let us get started.

Mugisha Muntu’s birth and growth

Gregory Mugisha Muntu was born on 7th October 1958 at Kitunga village in present-day Ntungamo District, Ankole sub-region, Western Uganda, to Enock Ruzima Muntuyera and Aida Matama Muntuyera. Apparently, Muntu must have had a fairly good childhood life since his staunch UPC supporter father, Muntuyera, was a government functionary and a close person to Milton Obote, the twice Ugandan president (1966-1971 and 1980-1985).

Muntuyera was a minister in Ankole Kingdom and a strong supporter of UPC. In a 2005 account by Muhanga and Baguma, it is said that Muntuyera had plans to run for MP seat on UPC ticket in the aborted 1971 General Elections, plans that were thwarted by Idi Amin’s coup of January 25th 1971, seeing the ‘Mzee with plans’ die in exile in a Nairobi Hospital, Kenya, 1977. When Obote came back in 1980, the remains of his comrade were brought back and buried in his home, Kajara, and a school (Kitunga High School) renamed after the UPC diehard!

Muntu’s mother, was born in 1933, married Muntuyera in 1953 and together had four children, Jennifer Muntuyera (passed on), Flavia Kobusigye, Mugisha Muntu, and the elder brother, Herbert Nuwagaba. The mother succumbed to Pneumonia, died on 9th February 2010, and was gracefully laid to rest in Kitunga, Kajara, Ntungamo on 13th February 2010. Flavia Kobusignye is married to Engole of Apac. My efforts to know what ‘Engole of Apac’ is all about were futile! Herbert Nuwagaba Muntuyera was once an MP in 2005, and is a strong supporter of NRM.

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Going back to Muntu’s supposedly good early childhood life, it didn’t hinder any humility traits in the young Muntu. According to the 2005 account, to humble her children, Muntu’s mother, Matama Muntuyera, refused them (children) to wear shoes while attending Kitunga Primary School, the village school they attended following their father’s resignation of ministerial position in Ankole Kingdom, and thus their residential transfer from Mbarara town (where Muntu was attending Mbarara Junior School) to Ntungamo! According to Muntu who grasped the depth of mom’s lesson later in life, mother taught them that they (children) ‘were just one of the others’!

For P.1 and P.2, Muntu attended Mbarara Junior School, a 1911 Protestant founded mixed day and boarding nursery and primary school that later became government-aided in 1952. Later on, for P.3 to P.7, he attended Kitunga Primary School and then Kitunga High School (for O’ level), also known as Muntuyera High School, following Obote’s renaming in honor of Muntu’s father, Muntuyera! For A’ level, he attended Makerere college School. In general, he attended home schools until A’ level! When done with primary and secondary education, Muntu attended Makerere University, and graduated in political science (1979-1981).

Many sources, including Wikipedia say that, while at Makerere university, Muntu became deputy president of the students union, implying he was already political, and, according to a 2005 New Vision report by Muhanga and Baguma, a principled one! For example, one Almunus is quoted saying: ‘He was a honest man. I still remember the time he was in charge of the guild canteen. The canteen would be allocated beer at factory price. But before Muntu took charge, those responsible used to get the beer at factory price and sell it on the open market for a profit; leaving the canteen with very minimal supplies. During Muntu’s time, the canteen had enough beer and at factory price‘.

Muntu married his wife, Julia Kakonge Muntu, in 1992. They have two children, Ankunda Muntu (born in 1993) and Bukama Muntu (1996). Muntu’s wife is a daughter to John Kakonge, the 1960s and 1970s diehards of UPC and Obote. He (Kakonge) was a Minister for Agriculture in Obote’s first rule. When Amin came into power in 1971, Kakonge John was one of the many who Amin regarded as opponents, and was killed (a bad death; crushed by hammer in Makindye Prison). Julia is also a sister to Leo Kyanda, who, currently, is a Major General in Uganda’s UPDF.

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She is a Masters Degree Holder in Arts and Sociology of Development (University of Essex-England), Masters in Business Administration (Maastricht school of management-Netherland), and Bachelors in Political Science and Women Studies (University of Ottawa, Canada). According to her LinkedIn Profile, she specializes in International Development in Africa, the work she accomplishes mainly through African Development Bank. Her digital footprint is low!

Bukama Muntu studied and graduated from University of Toronto Scarborough campus with a major in Women and Gender Studies and a double minor in Psychology and English Literature (2019). She then embarked on pursing nursing at the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing at the University of Toronto. According to her, nursing will give her the practical options to deliver on her intentions (intentions her earlier studies ignited) for women in general. More exploration reveals her as a leader, even at school, in a forum called Hart House, especially in the areas of gender and race (see here and here), and, confesses Muntu, she, her brother, and mother, support Muntu a lot!

READ THIS TOO: NRM looks like a party for losers!

On the other hand, Ankunda Muntu’s digital footprint is bizarre; nothing! In general, the family (wife and children) of General Mugisha Muntu has a very low digital footprint. In our next part, we will deeply explore his joining NRA in 1981 and his life thereafter. For now, God bless you.

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