Gone too soon: Banadda dared us to dream bigger

Under the care of an aunt, Banadda, went to Kigezi High School and  proceeded to Bugema Seventh Day Adventist School for O-Level, Kyambogo College School for A-Level and Sokoine University of Agriculture in Morogoro, Tanzania, where he graduated  with a Bachelor of Science in Food Science and Technology. 

Meeting the man
In 2007 while in my final year at Makerere University, Banadda was introduced to our class by the head of department at the time, Prof Levi Kasisira (RIP) as our lecturer for process engineering. Humble young man, Bannadda became a mentor to many of us, especially with his motivating statements like you can be a doctor   before 30 years of age.

Majority of us were in our early 20s and all PhD holders we knew then were old gurus with accomplished academic standards and if I remember , we had one or two PhD holders at the then department of Agricultural Engineering including the head. Banadda had attained his PhD at 31 years becoming one of the youngest PhD holders at the university. We later connected more after learning that I was from Kabale.

We met again when he became the director of production systems at the Uganda Industrial Research Institute (UIRI) where I had secured my first engineering job shortly after my graduation. 

When he left UIRI and returned to Makerere to head the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, we stayed in touch. 

Papal visit
Despite our interaction over the years, it’s only in 2021, that Banadda gave me a moving narration about his life. On March 18 2021, I called Banadda and after our business discussion, I told him that I was surprised a Seventh Day Adventist like him had won a papal award. His response was simple; “Davis you are a believer and you need to know that God does wonders.” 

In 2018, Banadda became the first African recipient of the Pius XI Golden Medal Award for scientific excellence since it was first established by Pope John XXIII in 1961. The award was awarded to Banadda in presence of his wife Dr Beatrice Banadda by Pope Francis at the Vatican on November 12, 2018. 

On March 30, 2021, I drove to the Makerere University School of Food Technology,Nuntrition  and Biosystems Engineering, he however, told me that I had gone to a wrong place. “Davis, come to the African Institute for Capacity Development. These days because of Covid-19, I rarely sit there, I have a bigger office here to ensure that I observe social distancing,” said Banadda. 

We talked about different things and it is at this time that he told me about the papal medal – apparently, he had received a call from unknown foreign number, where the caller identified himself as a cardinal from Vatican calling on behalf of His Holiness Pope Francis to notify him of his selection by the Pope as the 2018 winner of the Papal award.

Like any Ugandan would, he thought they were conmen, “So you Conman, you think am a Catholic and you want to con me?” 

The caller responded that he expected such a response but went ahead to tell him that the Pope was inviting him to the Vatican to receive his award, he ended the call by directing him to the Italian Embassy in Kampala for further information.  

After thinking about it, he decided to report the matter to the Italian Embassy.  At the reception he introduced himself and before he could start  to narrate his ordeal, he realised everybody turn attention to him and the receptionist quickly apologised for keeping him late and told him; “Sir the Ambassador is waiting for you.”

He was led to the Ambassador’s office who welcomed him and immediately congratulated him for winning the Papal Golden award and handed to him an invitation letter from the Pope.

At this moment what appeared to be a dream became a reality. Although the letter did not explain how he was selected a winner, it was signed by the Pope and Prof Banadda had to believe it was real.

Banadda together with his wife, were honored to have Holy Mass as special guests of the Pope in St Peters Basilica with Pope Francis. They were invited the following day amid tight security to the Pope’s office to receive the award. I asked him if he had shared his story with any public forum and noticed he had not. I was quick to invite him to our Kigezi Kampala Catholic Residents Association (KKCRA) community on Sunday 18 April 2021 as a guest speaker.  

Unfortunately, our plans did not materialise on April 18, 2021 as he was invited to an emergency meeting by the new Archbishop of Kampala. We agreed that we reschedule and given his busy calendar, we agreed on Sunday  June 20, 2021 to host him again at our KKCRA 3rd Sunday Community gathering at Namugongo. Unfortunately, Covid-19 came in full swing and lockdown set in and death later struck. What a lost opportunity!I was disturbed to hear news of his demise amidst the current crisis.

He has not lived to see all the fruits of his hard labour and share his transformation story with all of us, I felt this is something that shouldn’t go untold. His works and legacy will live to inform and inspire generations to come.
At the time of his death, we were  developing a countrywide business model  to create value-added sustainable products from solid biowaste resources. 

We have lost an advisor, mentor and friend; we will miss you Banadda.

Nugget
Prof. Banadda has also been serving on various boards including the Petroleum Authority of Uganda, African Agricultural Technology Foundation, and has been country director for African Institute for Capacity Development (AICAD) since October 2014. Prof Banadda was also the representative for Uganda and vice chair of the Consultative Council, Implementation of the Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation in Islamic Countries (ISESCO) Rabat, Morocco between 2016 – 2017.

Prof Banadda loved young people, treasured creativity, nurtured innovation. He was an open minded and considerate person who shared opportunities at his disposal with everyone he deemed fit. He has been a truly a self-made man.

But this was not all about building himself. It was about building a family, building a community, building a nation. He saw his mission in life as empowerment - giving those around him, and especially his students, the ability to overcome fear and despair.