Following the recriminations over the burial of the late
Leila Kasiira Balunywa, the Balunywa family decided to maintain peace and
organize their own last funeral rights at their ancestral home at Kasolo near
Iganga. As expected the family of Mr. Sserunkuma (AKA Kibuuka) in Boston have
not found it necessary to contact us, even after we made it clear to them that
we have no interest in any monies accruing to them as compensation from the
insurance and/or rail road companies! They are well aware that our only interest
was to bury Leila next to her father.
I delayed in posting this story because at the time we
held the prayers in Kasolo, there was so much anger from both families, ours and Sserunkuma’s at their deed. I did not want to stock the fire further. I
decided to wait at least a couple of months before publishing it, to allow the
anger cool down. 4 months down the road the questions I asked still linger; Was Leila murdered, did she commit suicide or was
her death an accident, who benefits from her death? Was it greed and love for
money that denied Leila a peaceful final resting place by her father’s side?
Refer to my earlier postings:
To get back to the story on 3 February 2013, the Balunywa family, their
friends and relatives congregated at their ancestral home at Kasolo near Iganga
to formerly give Leila a religious send off in form of a Duwa (Islamic prayer).
4 siblings of the late Leila graced the prayers. They included, Stella, Rose,
Michael and Mildred.
After the prayers, Stella, the eldest gave a moving eulogy of her late
sister. She also informed the congregation over the way Leila was controlled by
her aunt (Mrs Sserunkuma) while still in Uganda. The late Leila was not allowed by her aunt to
associate with her sisters leave alone communicate with any of them. She would
be punished harshly if it were discovered that she had corresponded with any of
them. And while in America, she would call and only talk in whispers to her
sisters. It seemed like a deliberate attempt by Leila’s foster parents to
obliterate her true roots of her parentage, to even her own sisters and brothers!
The siblings of Leila regretted the fact that Leila could not be laid
next to her father as her final resting place and instead put to rest at Bukuya
in Mubende District at the edge of their plot of land as is the culture in
Central Buganda since she doesn’t belong to that clan. She could not be buried
in the family cemetery, because that is an abomination.
Eventually, I realized the haste to bury in Bukuya was
just a formality. Almost a month after the burial Stella called me and gave me
a telephone number to call. She said it was her uncle (a brother to Sserunkuma)
who wanted to talk to me. I called him and he assured me he would help us
exhume Leila for reburial at Kasolo if we were still interested! I didn’t
discourage him, but explained that I had to talk to the rest of the family
about it before giving an answer, though I knew as a family, a decision had
been made to let go.
We still believe justice will be done and the mystery of
Leila’s death solved whether it disorganizes some people’s immigration status
or not, that will be up to the American authorizes. We believe in institutions
and ardently hope that the Boston Police will continue investigating the death
of Leila until the truth comes out.
Below are some photos of the occasion:
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| Mourners praying for the soul of the late Leila at Kasolo in Iganga |
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A sheikh preaching to mourners at the Duwa of the late Leila at Kasolo in Iganga
|
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| A cross section of mourners praying for the soul of the late Leila at Kasolo in Iganga |
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| Siblings of the late Leila at the Duwa in Kasolo |
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| Order of the proceedings of Leila's funeral at the foster father's |
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| Order of service of Leila's funeral at the foster father's |
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| Leila's life according to her foster father; with inaccuracies of course! |
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| A hymn recited at Leila's funeral |
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| A page from Leila's photo album |
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| A page from Leila's photo album |
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| Leila's poem for graduation |
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| The family cemetery at Kasolo, where Leila should have been laid to rest |
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| The grave of Leila's biological father; the late Isaac Kasiira Balunywa |
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