Africa-Press – Uganda. Residents in the districts of Kalangala and Kyotera are mourning the death of two leaders who passed on just hours apart.
Kalangala Town Council LC3 chairperson, Mr Steven Kizza,58, died on Thursday from Mulago Cancer Institute in Kampala where he was battling cancer while Sheikh Badru Matovu ,71, the Kyotera District Khadi died on September 15 after a long illness. He had earlier been diagnosed with diabetes and high blood pressure.
Sheikh Matovu also doubled as a councilor representing the elderly at Kyotera District Local Government and was a staunch supporter of the ruling National Resistance Movement, NRM party.
He previously served as chairperson Kyotera Town Council.
Mr Badru Mujuzi , a Muslim faithful and journalist in Kyotera District described Sheikh Matovu as a hardworking and dependable leader.
“He [Sheikh Matovu] has been a source of wisdom both in Islam and also in the political arena. He believed in and loved the ruling NRM, but was freely working with other people subscribing to different political parties,” he said.
Sheikh Matovu was buried at his ancestral home in Buyingi Village Kasaali Town Council ,Kyotera District on September 15.
Meanwhile, Ms Lydia Kizza, the widow said her husband spent two years battling cancer.
“When my husband was diagnosed with a blood clot in September 2021, he was operated and regained back his life ,but later he was also diagnosed with leukemia which has taken his life,” she said.
Mr Remegious Kiyita, a youth councilor, said Mr Kizza last appeared in public on April 23 during the passing of the 2023/2024 Kalangala Town Council.
“He [Kizza] looked weak, but gave powerful speech and it unfortunate that he has gone at a time when we needed him most,” he said.
According to Ms Victoria Braton, the Deputy LC3 Chairperson for Kalangala Town Council, by the time Mr Kizza died, he was still negotiating with National Forestry Authority(NFA) to allow residents of Lutoboka landing site where MV Kalangala ship docks to erect permanent houses and also own land on part of Lutoboka Forest Reserve .
“All these [plans] were still in the pipeline and the onus is on us to fulfill whatever he had started,” she said.
Before becoming Kalangala Town Council chairperson, a position he has occupied for seven years, Mr Kizza first worked as a social studies teacher at Kibanga Primary School, and later quit teaching to become a community development officer at Bufumira Sub County. He has been a board member of different schools, institutions and NGOs in Kalangala.
He was buried on September 17 at Kanyogoga Village in Kalangala Town Council.
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