How Muhakanizi lost battle to bone cancer

It was a sombre mood at the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) in Kampala yesterday as Prof William Bazeyo, the former Dean of Makerere University’s School of Public Health, shared how the late Keith Muhakanizi lost the battle to bone cancer. 
Muhakanizi, 64, was one of the longest-serving technocrats in President Museveni’s government. 

Prof Bazeyo, who was the late Muhakanizi’s personal doctor, while addressing mourners at a funeral service organised by the OPM, said the former permanent secretary was diagnosed with lymphoma cancer in 2018. 
He said upon discovery, Muhakanizi was enrolled on an aggressive treatment regime including chemotherapy, radiotherapy and stem-cell transplant, until his last days when he died in Milan,  Italy last,  Friday.

Prof Bazeyo explained that Muhakanizi had responded well to treatment in Turkey and seemed to be on his road to recovery.
“Even with the stem cell transplant and a subsequent Covid-19 attack, which sent him into the intensive care unit, he still came out alive. Being a workhorse, he oversaw his ministry docket from his sickbed,” he said.
Prof Bazeyo added: “He was responding well to treatment and he was subjected to several other check-ups until doctors later found that the cancer cells were still present in his body. They could not proceed with the treatment.” 

It is here that the doctors recommended his transfer to either San Raffaele Hospital in Milan or the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance in the United States, the hospital that treated the late Speaker of Parliament, Jacob Oulanyah, until his death last year.
“The family then settled for San Raffaele Hospital, where he was transferred on February 18 this year for the Kert-Cell therapy,” he said.

Kert-Cell therapy is the last treatment for cancer. 
“Once you get it, you either respond to treatment or die. There were chances of survival but after the treatment, complications started. The lungs got filled with fluids, which doctors think could have been as a result of his Covid-19 attack. After treating the lungs, the kidneys failed, followed by the liver. Later, doctors discovered that his body had developed cells that fought against his own cells, meaning that he had lost his immunity, leading to multiple organ failure,” Prof Bazeyo said. 

The Prime Minister, Ms Robinah Nabbanja, said: “As a country, we have lost someone who was time conscious and a quick decision maker.”
She added that the late demonstrated principles of accountability for public funds, mentored many members of staff and he was a celebrated economist, who left a footprint in public finance management.
The late Muhakanizi’s body is expected to arrive in the country today and burial is expected on Saturday in Lyantonde District. According to Ms Nabbanja, the government is footing all the funeral expenses.