Africa-Press – Uganda. Brenda Nantongo, a daughter of outgoing Works minister Gen Katumba Wamala, who died in a shooting on Tuesday, was yesterday laid to rest in an emotional send-off in Kikandwa Village, Mukono District.The 32-year-old public health consultant at Bombo Army Hospital died on the spot when the car she was travelling in with her father was attacked by assassins on Kisota-Kulambiro road.
At 4:12pm, Natongo’s body was lowered into the grave amid tears and sobs from her family and the public.The burial was attended by various government officials, security personnel, and other dignitaries, who sat distanced in the vast home compound, while others followed the proceedings via zoom in nearby gardens in observance of the standard operating procedures.
A man carries Brenda Nantongo’s portrait during her burial ceremony on June 3, 2021. PHOTO/MICHAEL KAKUMIRIZI
“Brenda was our glue. She was quiet and calm. Ugandans stop killing each other. What did the gentleman (Gen Katumba) seated over there ever do to anyone of you? She wanted to have kids, she wanted to serve. She was just starting and that had been taken away. Where do you get the permission to take a life?” Ms Diana Katumba, her elder sister, said. Archbishop of the Church of Uganda Stephen Kazimba, preaching from the biblical Cain and Abel passage, decried the heinous acts, saying they are bread by hatred.
“We need a peaceful and harmonious nation with no divisions. We can all co-exist,” Archbishop Kazimba said. He urged government to scale up efforts to control gun misuse and account for all guns in the country. Mufti Ramathan Mubajje urged government to conduct the investigation expeditiously and prosecute the culprits. Gen Katumba said he decided to focus on giving her daughter a befitting send-off instead of concentrating on the “terrorists”.
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With unexpected bursts of laughter, Gen Katumba eulogised his daughter and narrated the shooting ordeal.“I have realised two things. I realised how heartless people can be. But I also saw God’s grace. How could I survive?” Gen Katumba said, referring to her daughter as his guardian angel.He decried the act that snatched his daughter’s life at a prime age.“They have touched a nerve, and we shall fight back,” the former army commander said.Ms Margaret Kanyali, the elder sister of Gen Katumba, wondered what her brother had done to the person who wanted to kill him.
The casket containing Brenda Nantongo’s body is lowered into the grave at her parents home in Mukono District on June 3, 2021
“It is normal for one to have people who don’t like him, but why does one think a General should be killed because he hates him?” Ms Kanyali said.She added: “If you want to kill him because of the ministerial post, then take it and spare his life.”Flanked by her three sisters, Ms Kanyali, who described Gen Katumba as their only remaining candle in the family, asked the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), Gen David Muhoozi, to accord their brother more security.“Please, CDF we ask you to increase General’s security because I know that the people who wanted to kill him are here. They have come to prove whether he is still alive,” Ms Kanyali said.
She added that the perpetrators don’t appreciate others, and are full of intrigue and selfishness.Gen Muhoozi told mourners that the assailants would be prosecuted.“We shall go after the culprits with all the necessary efforts across security agencies, prosecuting agencies, Judiciary, the investigative agencies. All these should be used to bear results,” Gen Muhoozi said.He added: “ It should not be a problem this time. It is doable to pursue justice and bring the culprits to book.”
