The Untold Story of our father

        The late Ali W K Balunywa

Today is precisely 37 years ago since our dear father departed from us. It was a Friday 6 October 1972 when he was picked by Idi Amin’s notorious State Research Bureau boys in a Red BMW car from the District Commissioner’s office in Jinja. He was busy planning the then Busoga district Independence Day celebrations. He had also had his ablution and had readied himself for Juma prayers that Friday.

Ali Waiswa Kinyiri Balunywa, our father, was then only 50 years of age with 4 official wives and 40 children when he died. He was a strict disciplinarian and my elder siblings tasted some of that discipline. I was lucky because I was too young. I was then in Mwiri Primary School then a leading school in the country. My father’s driver came to school to break the news to me, but I could barely understand what he was talking about. I thought maybe he had been arrested and with time would be released.

Our father had been warned to flee the country by some friends of his in government, but he refused preferring to be arrested or killed at home. Several theories surround his death. That year Idi Amin had planned to visit our home, and it was rumored that he was due to announce our father the central province governor that infuriated Nasur who planned his death. Another was intrigue within the Muslim community because he was instrumental in uniting all factions and was the first chairman of the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council. Another was local Busoga politics.

Our father was a teacher by profession. He however joined local Busoga politics and was at one time the prime minister in Busoga (Nabyama). He also at one time headed the Busoga education department before going into full time administration. After some courses in Britain, he was appointed administrative secretary, a post that was very powerful at that time. Busoga now comprises of 8 districts, but then it was one entity. He was in charge of appointing all chiefs from the village (mutongole) to the county (Saza) chief and he was also head of the local administration police.

The late Balunywa's main home in Kasolo, Iganga

We used to see grown up men kneeling for him while soliciting for any of those offices. Our homestead was always full of people. 50 is a conservative figure on any given day. There was so much meat, (goat, cow or sheep) that most of us children abandoned it and opted for chicken or fish instead. Actually personally I resumed eating meat only after university.

2 years ago, a man came up and alleged that he knew where our father was buried. That he was buried in the World War II victims’ cemetery near Jinja. The man was the then in charge of the place and he remembered that night very well when soldiers woke him up to bury a guy he knew so well. He claimed he had been quiet all this long, because he had been warned of instant death should he reveal the information. Another prominent person the guy revealed was the late Shaban Nkuutu. The family of Nkuutu opted to rebury him, but after discussions within the Balunywa family, it was agreed to let him rest where he is to avoid fresh tears.

What we especially remember from him was his talks to us. He actually left us with 2 things. That is education and faith. These 2 values have continued to define our family to date.

May the Almighty rest his soul in eternal peace.(The above are recollections of tidbits I gathered while growing up)