Henry Kyemba to be accorded official burial

The Government has said the late Mr Henry K. Magumba Kyemba, 86, will be accorded an official burrial. Mr Kyemba will be buried at his ancestral home in Bugembe town, Jinja District on October 26. 

He succumbed to what his family described as diabetes-related complications on October 19 at URO CARE Hospital in Kampala.

In a statement released by the Government Spokesperson Mr Ofwono Opondo on October 21, “H.E Gen. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, in line with Article 99 of the 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda as amended which vests Executive authority of Uganda in the President; has therefore directed that the Late. Hon. Henry K. Magumba Kyemba be accorded an Official Burial.”

An official funeral is granted by the president for a person’s great contribution to the country and government meets all the funeral expenses.

The statement from Mr Ofwono indicated that a tentative burial preparation programme has been drawn with “a hybrid of the National Organizing Committee chaired by the Minister for Presidency – Hon. Milly Babirye Babalanda with representatives from the family and thus agreed.”

Mr Kyemba will be buried at 4pm on Thursday next week.

The tentative programme showed that the body will leave the funeral home on Monday, October 23, for a church service at 10am at Namirembe Cathedral in Kampala.

The body will then be taken to his home on Port Bell, Luzira at 2pm. 

On Tuesday, the body will be at parliament from 10am to 1pm for parliamentarians to pay tribute to the late politician after which it will be taken to a funeral home in Ntinda. 

A Joint Local Council Session will be held on Wednesday at the City Hall, Jinja at 10am. The body will then be taken to his ancestral home in Bugembe at 3pm. 

On Thursday, there will be a church service at Bugembe Cathedral before he is taken to his final resting place at 4pm. 

Mr Kyemba was a Rotarian and political leader who held several high positions in the immediate Post – Independence Uganda.