Aponye died while talking on phone with wife

 “We were on the phone as he approached Itojo, the point of the accident. I told him to please travel safely and he replied that they would go well, then the phone went dead. I called again shortly after but it was busy. I called again and it was busy. Then a call came through and I was told that my husband had died.”

Those are the words of the grief-stricken Evangelist Nyegamehe, wife to business magnate Apollo Nyegamehe, popularly known as Aponye, who perished in a motor accident last Thursday evening on the Mbarara-Kabale road.
Ms Nyegamehe made the revelation last evening at the vigil in their home in Lubowa, eight kilometers south of Kampala, off Entebbe Road. 
  
She spoke glowingly of a young Aponye who built his own house at the age of 15 and married her at age 20 in 1978. The boy that would become a billionaire was ingenious from a very young age, having started his work life as a wheelbarrow pusher in Kabale town in the 70s and grew to become the billionaire we have known till his death.  

His wife, like everybody else that spoke at the vigil, praised Aponye for being a very humble man with very few words, who worked his way from the ground to a place beyond the sky. 

Former Premier Dr Ruhakana Rugunda, who spoke on behalf of all friends of the late, said Aponye’s life was impactful and far reaching. 

“The life of Aponye is a textbook. If you pick any angle of his life, you will be amazed by how far reaching it can be. In the area of politics, he was a humble man, but he was able to move mountains without making any noise, without talking,” he said.

 “In church, he was unrivalled in his support for church activities and projects. For instance, recently, he brought Chinese to build a house in Muhanga, these south Sudanese friends here. He has showed that with humble education, you can move mountains,” he added. 

Notable people in attendance at the vigil were Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa, Dr Rugunda, former deputy Attorney General Mwesigwa Rukutana, Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Norbert Mao and businessman Hajj Omar Mandela.

Others are; former security minister Gen Henry Tumukunde, Gen Ivan Koreta, Prisons Commissioner General Dr Johnson Byabashaija and State Minister for Health (General Duties)Hanifa Kawooya.

Some of the notable contributions towards the funeral costs include Speaker Anita Among who contributed $10,000, Mr  Tayebwa Shs10m, Uganda Grain Council Shs10m, and businessmen Charles Mbire (Shs10m) and Godfrey Kirumira (10m).