15-gun salute as Lt Gen Pecos Kutesa is laid to rest

A sombre mood engulfed Lyakajula Village, the ancestral home of Lt Gen Pecos Kutesa on Sunday afternoon as mourners gathered to give him a befitting send off.
Lt Gen Kutesa, 65, a Luweero bush war hero died on Tuesday in India where had gone for medical treatment.
During the funeral service, sorrow and grief was evidently written on the faces of his widow Ms Dorah Kutesa and children.
Gen Kutesa’s casket was draped in national colours and heavily guarded by the military police. A military drum was sounded 15 times before a red flag was raised to flag off the 15-gun salute.
As the casket was lowered in the grave, a soldier sounded the bugle- the last post –to announce the demise of a general as part of the military rituals during burial ceremonies.
The clergy led by Venerable Apollo Nkirirwa of Lwakajula Archdeaconry prayed for the repose of his soul.
Speaker after speaker applauded the deceased for his role in pacifying Uganda when he chose to join the army.
Former Security Minister Gen Elly Tumwine asked soldiers to be exemplary like Gen Kutesa and work with the wananchi to transform the society.
“Pecos has laboured to transform his people through agriculture, soldiers should learn to serve and work with people to improve their livelihood,” he said
Gen Mugisha Muntu, also a former bush war hero and current leader of Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) party, said he was saddened that Gen Kutesa did not enjoy his retirement since had just retired from the army early this month .
Defence Minister Vincent Ssempijja praised the deceased for promoting agriculture through his coffee project, KIKA Global Outreach.
Ms Jane Kankunda, a member of KIKA Group said Gen Kutesa distributed over six million coffee seedlings and also mobilized 1477 coffee farmers in the area who later formed a cooperative society.
“This cooperative has increased coffee production, improved post-harvest handling and value addition. We ask the government to fund Gen Kutesa’s project by giving us fertilizers and other inputs,” she said.
Family and friends described Gen Kutesa as a respectful, loving, amiable, gentle soul who listened to people and more so the elders.
President Museveni who was represented by Gen Wilson Mbadi, the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), said he remembers the deceased for four things including his exceptional performance at Madrid Military Academy, his tremendous effort when he captured a heavy machine gun when they attacked Kakiri, accompanying him to meet former Libyan leader Col. Muammar Gaddafi in Kenya on June 5,1981 in an engine boat through Lake Victoria and his role in the battle of Masindi.   
Ms Kutesa thanked President Museveni for supporting her husband all the years when he was serving in the army.
The late began his military career in 1976 when he joined FRONASA, one of the military groups formed to fight the late President Idi Amin Dada.
He was trained at Munduli Military Academy in Tanzania and after the fall of Amin, he was sent to Nakasongola Military Training School. In 1981, Kutesa deserted the army and joined Museveni’s National Resistance Army (NRA) rebels fighting to remove Milton Obote. Kutesa is survived by a wife and six children.