Africa-Press – Uganda. Former Electoral Commission (EC) commissioner Tom Walter Buruku died early yesterday, aged 78, his family and former employer have confirmed. He was Ghana’s honorary consul in Uganda.
Mr Hilary Madira Osoa, a nephew, said last evening that the cause of death is pending autopsy, but Buruku had been battling heart complications, hypertension, and kidney problems.
Recounting his last hours, Mr Madira said Buruku on Monday went for routine dialysis at a private medical facility in Kamwokya, a Kampala suburb, but complained of general body pain upon return home in Garuga, Entebbe.
He failed to eat dinner and later developed breathing complications.
“At midnight, the situation got worse. He went to bed [and] he passed on at about 4am,” Mr Madira said by telephone from Arua.
Born in 1943, Buruku is survived by five children and wife, Daisy Aisha.
“So sad [that] West Nile has lost another gallant son; a true professional in all that he did in serving his country (Uganda). As a student at Makerere University, we benefitted from his patronage and mentorship,” ex-Ayivu Member of Parliament Bernard Atiku noted in a tribute.
He added: “He always wished well for West Nile and particularly Arua City, his establishments and contribution in the development and transformation of Arua into a City are evident and practical.”
As proprietor of Heritage Park Leisure Resort, Buruku’s Heritage Courts hotels in Arua’s upscale Anyafiyo outskirt stood out among early high class recreational and accommodation facilities.
Lawyer Caleb Alaka, the president of West Nile Foundation, hailed Buruku as “one of the most hard-working and entrepreneurial servants of our times, past and present”.
“[He was] an elder statesman from West Nile and great contributor to the development of West Nile, its people and the country at large. We will miss his counsel during his time working for this country and in retirement,” Mr Alaka wrote. Buruku, a former director for Africa at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies based in Geneva, Switzerland, retired from public service in 2016 after serving for 14 years as EC commissioner.
Mr Joseph Biribonwa, who was the vice chairman of EC when Buruku was a commissioner, yesterday described him as a level-headed leader who combined diplomacy and integrity with forthrightness. “I can say we left [EC] with our heads high because of him. He had the ability of balanced decision-making and he was diplomatic in his approach to work,” he said.
The candour of Buruku, a law graduate from Dar es Salaam University in Tanzania, was manifest in making the toughest of decisions even when it went against the wishes of government.
In recounting his time at the Commission, Buruku in accounts carried by our sister television station, NTV, said: “There was a time [now four-time presidential contender Kizza] Besigye was accused of multiple crimes. We as commissioners had to decide whether to deny him nomination or not. Three of us took a firm decision and said, ‘no. [He should be nominated to stand for presidential election because] one is innocent until prove guilty’.”
In the run up to the 2006 elections, Uganda’s then Attorney General Khiddu Makubuya, in a legal opinion, asked the EC not to nominate Dr Besigye, then remanded to Luzira Prisons on treason and terrorism charges, to stand for president.
He argued that as a suspect, Dr Besigye could not be presumed to be at the same level of innocence as other presidential nominees, but the EC spurned the counsel — the courage that Buruku referenced in his narrative captured by NTV.
The former EC Secretary, Mr Sam Rwakoojo, was unavailable yesterday to comment on the passing on of Buruku.
But during the farewell for retiring commissioners on November 16, 2016, he described Buruku as a “gentleman, ever calm and poised yet with a very reasonable voice that would give a chance to every view, always candid and impartial in your decisions”.
Tentative Burial Programme
Tomorrow: Body to be taken to Kagave Church of Uganda followed by a vigil at his home in Garuga, Entebbe.
Friday: Funeral service at All Saints Cathedral Nakasero and body leaves for Maracha for a vigil at Kijoro Poo in Kijomoro.
Saturday: Body returned to Arua City for a vigil at the home of late Semei Osoa in Congo Zone, Mvara.
Sunday: Funeral service at Emmanuel Cathedral and burial at the home of late Semei Osoa.
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