Africa-Press – Uganda. One of Uganda’s veteran journalists, Felix Basiime has succumbed to Covid-19, his family said Friday.
Basiime’s brother, Mr Festus Bandeeba, the deputy resident city commissioner said the 58-year old father of four died Friday morning at Mbarara regional referral hospital where he had been admitted for days with Covid-19 symptoms.
The hospital director, Dr Celestine Barigye said: “We gave him all the necessary support but Covid-19 took him. His wife is a health worker at our hospital but we did all we could but failed to save his life.”
A resident of Kakoba, Mbarara City, Basiime’s reporting primarily focused on environmental issues and tourism, with an emphasis on oil, gas.
He served as Monitor Publication Ltd’s bureau chief in Mbarara and Fort Portal, won multiple awards and his reporting was recognized by the National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO).
Basiime nurtured many young journalists, especially in the western part of Uganda.
Mr Otushabire Tibyangye who worked under him at Mbarara Bureau in 2001 said he was an honest man and mentor.
‘’He has been a straightforward person and very helpful team player. He loved his religion. He has been a loving father and very Cooperative. I met him in school when I was teaching him at St.Kagwa in 1981. I started working with him in 2001 at Daily Monitor when he was the Bureau Chief and he was a very active journalist.”
“The death of Felix Basiime is a big blow to journalism. He gave Tooro platform in Daily Monitor and nurtured a lot of young talent. His byline remains a testament of good old journalism. Journalism has lost an activist and teacher,” fellow journalist, Mr Raymond Mujuni eulogized.
