Prof. Mondo Kagonyera, the senior presidential adviser on Kigezi Affair and Kabale University University Chancellor, has decried the high levels of intolerance to divergent views that have taken over the National Resistant Movement, a party he belongs to.
Speaking at the launch of a book written about Romegio Kataratambi, a famous entrepreneur and politician from Kigezi at Sheraton Hotel Kampala on Sunday, Kagonyera, the immediate former chancellor of Makerere University, who also served in different ministerial positions, said NRM leaders must understand that it’s impossible for people to agree on one thing.
“I appeal to NRM, to be tolerant of people who hold different views from ours. It’s not possible that people will always agree with us on everything. We call upon the NRM to exercise the moderate politics you [Kataratambi] played; it’s good for our people to accept that people can hold different views even on solving our country’s problems,” Kagonyera said.
His comments come at a time when the country is yet to recover from the impact of the 2021 general elections, which left a number of opposition supporters languishing in different jails for crimes relating to their political beliefs. The 2021 general election also witnessed the killing of at least 54 people as they protested the arrest of Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, the then National Unity Platform party presidential candidate during his campaign rally in Luuka district.
Kagonyera said the reason he ditched his former party, the Uganda People’s Congress to join the Uganda Patriotic Movement; the precursor to the NRM was to have clean politics that is not based on tribes and religion. He said any party that recruits its members based on tribes and religion is dangerous and must be shunned.
Kagonyera said as Bakiga, they are known for telling the truth, and therefore, he would not hesitate to say anything for as long as he believes it’s wrong. “The Bakiga are the least sectarian people you would find anywhere in the world. They only mind about the content of your character. The Bakiga fear telling lies, they are hardworking people and they are very frank; those who know us know,” Kagonyera said.
Dr. Chris Baryomunsi, the Minister of Information and National Guidance shied away from commenting on Kagonyera’s statement and instead chose to amplify the good attributes of the Bakiga. “The Bakiga are known for many things, including hard work and honesty and I’m sure madame IGG you will not see many of us at your office. We urge the Bakiga who come after us to maintain that honesty,” Baryomunsi said.
He praised Kataratambi and his children for documenting his life’s journey, saying it will inspire many generations to come. “I feel challenged when we go to the countryside and find people who are still very poor. We salute people like Romigio for trying to improve their lives. We need to work on mindset change to get people out of poverty. His story tells us that we can get out of poverty irrespective of one’s background. Therefore, we have to take lessons from Mr. Kataratambi for what he has been able to achieve,” Baryomunsi said.
Speaking at the same book launch, former minister for Privatization Mathew Rukikaire called upon the Bank of Uganda to reopen the National Bank of Commerce, in which he and Kataratambi were shareholders.
“I have come here to pay tribute to my friend Kataratambi, we worked together for over 15 years at the National Bank of Commerce before the Bank of Uganda took it over. We hope it’s restored and the shareholders get their money,” Rukikaire said.
In 2012, the Bank of Uganda indefinitely suspended the license of the National bank of Commerce and transferred its depositors to Crane Bank, which was later also closed under unclear circumstances. A parliamentary probe into the closure of indigenous banks in 2019 was to later find out that the Bank of Uganda closed NBC Bank whose shareholders included among others; former prime ministers; Amama Mbabazi and Ruhakana Rugunda, businessman Amos Nzeyi among others without following the law.
For his part, Dr. Ezra Suruma thanked Kataratambi for his contribution to the economic development of Uganda. “This book is different from other biographies; it shows us what is possible and what could have been done to develop Uganda. This book shows that Kataratambi was a practical visionary. The things he started implementing 60 years ago are still the same things we are struggling to put out as a country. We have no shortage of talkers like myself but limited implementors,” Suruma, the current Makerere University Chancellor and former minister of finance said.
In the book titled, ‘Aman a head of his time,’ the success story of Romigio Kataratambi in business, politics, Kigezi, and catholic church affairs is told succinctly by those who have known him over the years. It captures his story as a civil servant, and his journey to business where he went on to become one of the largest dairy farmers in Kigezi, and a political powerhouse in the region. In his brief remarks, Kataratambi said he was very grateful that a book has been written about him. “It brings back very good memories.”
