Museveni reunites with primary old boy

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Museveni reunites with primary old boy
Museveni reunites with primary old boy

Africa-Press – Uganda. Mr Eliasaf Micwe, 85, a resident of Kizira Village in Kagamba Sub-county, Rakai District, says he is a former schoolmate of President Museveni at Kyamate Elementary School in Ntungamo District.

The duo reunited 65 years later on May 23 at Liberation Square in Masaka City.

Last week, President Museveni was in Greater Masaka for four days to popularise the government’s wealth creation agenda through poverty alleviation programmes such as Emyooga and the Parish Development Model (PDM).

When the master of ceremonies at the function announced that an old boy of Kyamate was around and wanted to greet the President, Mr Museveni looked at the old man coming towards him and he straight away got out of his chair, and walked towards him. Both greeted each other before having a private chat which lasted about three minutes.

Moments after the function Mzee Micwe told Daily Monitor that he reminded Mr Museveni of a few things and luckily enough, the latter recollected the moments during their childhood days.

Mzee Micwe says he dropped out of school in 1958 before completing Primary Seven saying he wasn’t gifted like Museveni and other pupils.

“I was only good at football and I repeated Primary Five for some years and that is why my father told me to quit school and marry. It is from this time that I stopped interacting with [Mr] Museveni since I had now turned into a family man,” he said.

Mzee Micwe has seven children.

He said meeting the president has given him so much joy, although he regrets having not completed school.

“Had I completed school, I’m sure I could have traced Mr Museveni in the early 1980s and I would be a great man too. I’m, however, happy and I pray that God gives my OB more years on earth,” he said.

Around 1980, Mzee Micwe says he heard about Museveni, a son of Kaguta who had contested for Presidency and later went to the jungles of Luweero to fight.

“This [going to the bush] amused me so much and when I heard that he had become President, I was truly overwhelmed with joy,” he added.

Museveni’s early school days

Born in 1938, Mzee Micwe was a bit older than Museveni and says he always helped the latter pass through a waterlogged village path from school to Mr Amos Kaguta’s (late father of Mr Museveni) home where he lived during that time.

“I was in Primary Five when Museveni was in Primary Three. But I was much older than him because I joined school at around the age of 17. He [Museveni] was short and me and Mbagira, another schoolmate, we used to help him out because he couldn’t wade through the waters unless we carried him,” he reminisced.

According to Mr Micwe, his parents, Emmanuel Bangirana and Manjeri Kanjumezi were good friends of the Kaguta family and they visited their home often to drink milk because the family had many cows.

“[Mr] Museveni, like we used to call him before adding his father’s name Kaguta, was intelligent and this endeared us to him. At that tender age while in Primary Three, he was head of scouts in our school as I captained the school football team. He [Museveni] loved participating in everything, but little did we know that he would one day lead this nation,” Mr Micwe said.

Because of Mzee Micwe’s love and skills in football, he says he was nicknamed ‘Endahi ya Buhweju’ , literally meaning the guineafowl of Buhweju “because I would run with the ball like a guineafowl”.

“My brother, [Mr] Elisa Mwesigwa who didn’t go to school and Mbangira, a schoolmate, would accompany me and [Mr] Museveni as we moved around areas of Kaitabagyemu-Bijaaba, Kikoni and we really had a good time. We would also play with Nyabakazi and Kirebete who were children to Ruzinda, a brother to Ms Esteeri Kokundeka, Museveni’s mother.” he says Ms Kokundeka who was aged 84 died in November 2001,” he narrated.

Mzee Michwe said he and Mr Museveni were taught by Kampororo, Ndubaana, Rwabiregye, Banyenzaki, and the head teacher was Njuneki.

By this time, he says they were residents of Katookye Village before relocating to Rakai District to look for greener pastures and clean water.

Mzee Micwe had village mates with whom he migrated with to Rakai in 1965. These included; Anania, Bagudaala, Yoweri and Kichuma,a resident of Kasankala, Rakai District, who is the only one still alive.

Meanwhile, Mr Sandor Walusimbi, the State House press secretary, said despite being a president, Mr Museveni is a human being and went through all stages of life.

“Some people think that the President is different from the rest of us, it is good that such people [OBs] can bring out his real resemblance with other humans. He [Mr Museveni] lived and played with such people during his childhood and he was actually much excited to meet him,” he said on Saturday.

Adding: “Despite having a very busy schedule, I’m sure he [Mr Museveni] is very willing to meet Mr Micwe again so that they have a lengthy talk.”

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