31/05/2023
The story of Semwanga Moses, Newly appointed headmaster, Kiira college Butiki.
By John Banalya(Retired Journalist and Development consultant)
In April 1979 Tanzanian troops captured Kampala and led to the flight of Idi Amin. His moribund soldiers took flight to northern Uganda and many in the south were happy. The dictatorship was gone and celebrations were all corners. But one big family was sad. One of their own, Daudi Kintu had been caught up in the war.
As headmaster of Gulu High School many believed that he was trapped and would be executed. Reprisal killings were reported in Northern Uganda. No one from the southern tribes was expected to survive . Daudi’s father, Quarutu Kintu, a former headmaster of Mwiri primary school took stock and prepared for the worst. But the worst came not to pass and Daudi Kintu returned to the south only to be appointed headmaster of Busoga College Mwiri, Iganga secondary and later Jinja Secondary school before his demise leaving behind his young brother, Aggrey Kintu who was once a careers master at Kiira College Butiki before becoming headmaster of Namasagali College. Other siblings Daudi left behind were his sisters among whom is Rhoda Kintu, a retired nurse whose star child Semwanga Moses is the newly appointed Headmaster of Kiira College Butiki.
Semwanga's father was Mr. Mabuya, an aircraft controller who was a relative to Professor Lugumba the author of the much read commerce text books for secondary schools.
Strapped onto his mothers back when he was two years, Semwanga graced his maternal grandparents home at Wabulenga village hardly a half a kilometer from the T-Junction to Kiira College on the Namulesa -Ivunamba road as you head towards Wakalenge village. It was here that Semwanga grew up plying the paths to Namulesa, the only credible trading center among the villages of Wabulenga, Kivubuka, Butiki, Wakalenge , Bufuula, Mauta and Nakabango. He joined Kivubuka Primary school and scaled the heights by joining Kiira College Butiki which is a measure of success in our community. I could not miss him as his grandparents’ home is 300 meters from our home, ours being the last home in Namulesa village before you journey into Wabulenga.
Semwanga became serious at his academics and his only worry was how to join University and study education like his uncles. In 1992 he sat for his A level and Joined Makerere University where he resided in Lumumba. He came with the badge of honor having successfully discharged his responsibilities as a library prefect at Butiki. He was not a loner. In his company was late Mungo Paul, Robert Eremye and Bukuluki Paul(now with a doctorate from MUK), all academic giants from Kiira College Butiki . Having had a late entry at Makerere I was with Semwanga for the three years when he was pursuing his Bachelors degree in Education.
As a political Scientist I hated his course but to him teaching is a not only family tradition but a noble cause . He argues that no one wants his child to be taught by a poor teacher so the best have to be encouraged to enroll into teaching. I recruited Semwanga and his peers into the Butembe Makerere University students Association (BUMASA) where Semwanga became the Publicity Secretary . Our patron was Victoria Sekitoleko, then Ugandan agriculture minister who insisted that as students preparing for national leadership we had travel to other parts of Uganda and be grounded in the affairs of our community. On the bus to Hoima ,Masaka , Mbarara , Bushenyi , Rukungiri and Entebbe was Semwanga dispensing his smile and gentleness only to resurface in the Butembe constituency where our work was to visit high schools and jointly work with staff of these schools to increase enrollment of their students to Makerere University. The results were instant. In hardly two years enrolment had doubled from these schools. Our best destinations were Wairaka College , Wanyange Girls school and Kiira College Butiki where the headmaster , Richard Isabirye was so happy to see that majority of the BUMASA members had passed through his hands. Minus the difficult ones like me, Kyangwa Mercy, Robert Ziribasanga, and Mbago Amza who had seen the 1984 strike, Semwanga was among the post strike students who were known to be very disciplined with their leader being Mungo Paul who considered him self a special student. We interacted with students at the school and became aware of the challenge of having poor reading materials that on many occasions we shipped in notes. The most attractive BUMASA member to the students remained Fred Biso who was a MUK medicine student having done his O level at Butiki before proceeding to Namilyango College where he passed into Makerere. By this time there was no student we knew of who had gone directly from Kiira College to a medical school . Students wanted Biso to help them master biology and scale the heights. The other who pulled attention was Moses Kuguminkiriza( now deceased having succumbed to kidney failure) . He was a law student and showed confidence when explaining how you can get an A in Divinity and Economics and increase chances of joining law school. I was there for the Literature in English lovers. Sensing that Kiira College was a preferred destination of our team our Patron Insisted that we cannot only look at Kiira College when Butiki Gayembe Primary school and others in the community were rotting. She designed a program where I and Semwanga spent our 1994 vacation teaching for free at Butiki Gayembe Primary school. Other University students spent time teaching in local schools in their home villages. Our Patron challenged us to explain what we would be doing in vacations if we were not teaching and helping out local schools which were saddled with struggling teachers. There was no better alternative. Luckily at Butiki Gayembe was another senior uncle of Semwanga , Mr. Akatya who was the headmaster. Each day we got on top of Kiira College hill and then rolled down to Butiki Gayembe and taught the pupils. We were exciting to them. At times we could have a service van courtesy of Dr. Herbert Kyeyamwa who was then manning the Njeru stock farm. Semwanga never missed a day. To him missing a general assembly is criminal. His logic is that if you miss assembly you miss the platform for instructing the students. It was such dedication to the teaching profession that Semwanga joined Jinja Senior Secondary where he rose to the rank of Careers Masters. His switching to Iganga Secondary was occasioned by being a star Divinity teacher. He has been kingpin in manufacturing As and distinctions in the trade that he became a natural choice for appointment as Deputy headmaster in charge of Academics at Iganga Senior Secondary .His ascendance to the headship of Kiira College demands nothing other than Academic excellence. He has set standards for his students. He is said to be an administrator who begins with the rhetoric question of “ have you attended class?” Hopefully these will be the standards he brings to Butiki. Our judgment over his rein must be academic excellence.
Running an education institution is like running a soccer club. Results are demanded immediately. Its costly to make any student an experimental rabbit. Semwanga should not expect to be judged differently. We demand of him to set a team that can challenge Jinja College not to double our numbers again. He must ensure that our boys are welcomed by the girls at Iganga Secondary where they will promise to reconnect with the girls at the faculty of Engineering at Makerere University if not at the London school of Economics . The annihilated arch enemy of Busoga College Mwiri should not be allowed to come closer. It has potential to overwhelm.
The Semwanga I know can handle stress and smiles amidst difficult. The last I saw him was about two years ago as I rushed from a Roofing store on spire road in Jinja . He was riding with his cousins in a car and they stopped. Semwanga smiled but as we talked he was on a mission to buy a coffin to go and inter his brother in Mukono. He looked composed as he told me that this was the reality of life and contrasted it to what his maternal family had gone through when they lost Namugabo Peninah, who was a British trained midwife married to the powerful Luwuliza Kirunda family. She was the bread winner and close sister to Semwanga’s mother. He told me tragedy can come in rapid but you have to remain calm like a well placed rock in the river. Water passes by you but never losing your position. The death of his brother was coming after interring , Honorable Godfrey Idwege , who was husband to the youngest sister to his mother. That is the nature of man who shies away when you ask him the name of his wife. He will quickly say she is a banker and will prepare to depart only when you insist and ask how many children he has . He will mumble five and keep quiet with a contagious smile. If you ask whether he is known to Engineer Kagga , Semwanga will whisper that that is another uncle married to another auntie from the Kintu family. His appointment has scaled the Namulesa community interest in the school. It just dawned on every one that despite the community owning Kiira College Butiki for 65 years, no intellectual from this community has scaled to become head teacher of the school. Nampindo Fred and Aggrey Kintu came close but missed the mark. My visit to Namulesa was palpable. Rounds of beer were thrown in the presence of Kiira College teachers who are the source of revenue for the Namulesa economy. It was here that I met Mr. Isanga the well known mathematics teacher and deputy headmaster of our school. He made it clear, “I will be there to welcome my brother Semwanga when he shows up . It has been a hassle but my role has been to hold the school together.”The Vice Chairman of Namulesa village , Magidu Kuluse rushed to my home to ask whether it true that a local born of Namulesa can ascend to the helm of Kiira College Butiki and when I assured him that its possible he wondered whether the poor souls of Namulesa can afford to educate their children at the school as it was during the reign of Richard Isabirye. “Semwanga Moses and Kintu family must be lucky souls.” He mutteredThe biggest causality of 1984 strike Musenze David Isabirye gave me a call. He said , “This is very good for the community and the winner is Joseph Muvawala . He has seen sense and facilitated the appointment of Semwanga.”
He wondered why the good Doctor had not seen Semwanga’s ability from the start. My answer was that its normal. They eyes on your head will never see the nose however close it is. It takes others to tell you how beautiful your nose is. The fact is that the search for the headmaster for our alma mater has ended well.Personally I reconnected to the old days in Namulesa and saw how tough getting a degree was not mentioning succeeding in life. In the Namulesa –Wakalenge column I recall only five of us were at the University between 1992 and 1996 with Joseph Muvawala, PHD (Social Scientist) in the lead. He is the Executive Director of Uganda National Planning Authority. His brother Paul Mubiwa(B.Com) the Jinja District Finance Officer , Moses Semwanga with a Bachelors in Education and now headmaster Kiira College Butiki , Tefula Dhikusooka, with a PHD in Veterinary Medicine in consultancy services and I.
The arrival of Semwanga at the helm of Butiki made me realize that our time is up. We should be prepared to bolt out of the scene as the new arrivals like Kigenyi Benon take lead. Its our prayers that they scale the heights and reconnect well to have a national character and grapple with national issues.Christopher Isabirye the headmaster of St. Stephen Bugiri, one of the losers in the search called and told me he was calm and has called Semwanga to congratulate him over the appointment.“Whatever happens in this world happens for a reason. We can only support him to deliver. Above all at least the OBS are fully aware of his intentions,” he said . Mbentyo Muhamad former City Councilor said “ Semwanga was my teacher and is the right choice. How come the appointing authority did not see him at first. I can assure he will not disappoint.”Kameze Ivan , the City Councilor for Jinja North that encompasses the school said “It’s a pleasure that we have Semwanga as a head teacher because he knows the values and norms of the school. Semwanga is not only my Old boy but was my teacher at Jinja Senior Secondary. His zeal of serving and working together makes him the best choice.”Like Semwanga who professes the Anglican faith and is regular at church , it is important to put God in trust of our school. But God gave us hands and brains to think out our problems. Let no OB take off his hands in this venture.May we all wish the Kiira College community well. Measurement of success is simple. Quantity and qualitative first grades for O-level and quality and quantified Principle passes at A level. At Kiira College Butiki we expect academic excellence. You sleep , eat , and read books . If you come out as a star footballer then that is one of the accidents that can happen. For Disciple and hard-working.
