Kyemba’s life story could inspire youth, politicians

He also served as PPS to President Idi Amin, who later named him Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Culture. Kyemba eventually ended up as Minister of Culture.

He was later made Minister of Health, then Minister of State for Agriculture and finally Minister for the Presidency under President Museveni.

I want to believe that if Kyemba managed to pull that off, he did it because there was something special about him and the way he went about his work.

I have heard arguments to the effect that he achieved so much because he was born into a life of privilege. That he was fortunate to have graduated at a time when there was a shortage of professionals to fill the many vacant posts that were being left behind by our colonial administrators.

The arguments may hold some water. Kyemba was indeed born to what was at the time considered an affluent family. His grandfather and father had been chiefs. His brother, David, was an influential politician. That means they could afford him a good education. 

To focus on that is to miss the point. If Kyemba achieved so much, it was because he worked hard and focused on the important things. He must have approached his work with dedication, commitment and clarity of purpose. 

As a politician, he never tasted defeat. He won races to represent Jinja West in the National Resistance Council (NRC), the Constituent Assembly (CA) and the 7th Parliament, but we all know that winning an election is not a walk in the park. It calls for hard work. 

It is sad that Kyemba signed out at a time when many of our youth do not appreciate the importance of working hard.

As we mourn his passing, I hope his life’s story is one from which the youth in Busoga and indeed those from other parts of the country pick many useful lessons that could help them redefine their work ethic with emphasis on dedication and hard work.

I would not know whether it was his nature or whether it was because he was one you could easily describe as a been-there-done-it-all or both, but Kyemba did not hold onto grudges and did not let himself be defined by betrayal and injustice. That came to light in 1998.

Kyemba had been Minister for the Presidency going into the June 1996 Jinja West parliamentary elections, but was not reappointed to Cabinet. None of the MPs from Jinja were. They were still left out when President Museveni shuffled the Cabinet in July 1998, drawing strong protests.

The Jinja MPs met then National Resistance Movement (NRM) Vice Chairman, Al-haji Moses Kigongo, to voice their displeasure. It was a meeting that lifted the lid on the circumstances under which Kyemba was dropped.

The no-holds-barred talking Kigongo told them that a high-powered delegation from Jinja, which Kyemba had ironically helped to fix an appointment with Mr Museveni, had used the occasion to ask the President not to reappoint him.

“You Basoga have left us bewildered. You are the ones who frustrate efforts at naming people from Busoga to key positions in government. You undermine whoever is appointed. That must stop,” Kigongo said as he dismissed the group.

Kyemba chose the high road even when he had been made aware of the betrayal. He continued to associate with many of them. Such maturity is lacking among many of our politicians. That perhaps explains why there are so many fights among our politicians. 

The choice he made on that particular occasion should serve to help our politicians learn that it is possible to rise above betrayal. I hope they can learn from it.

Mr Osman Ahmed Noor is the second Deputy Katukiro (prime minister) of Busoga Kingdom