Ugandan cardiologist, Dr.Aggrey Kiyingi who has been living in Australia has died, his wife has announced.
“It is with immense sadness and a heavy heart that I write to inform you of the passing of my beloved husband, Dr. Aggrey Kiyingi. He peacefully departed from our lives. Words cannot express the depth of grief and sorrow we feel as we come to terms with this profound loss. Aggrey was more than a husband to me; he was a loving father, a wonderful friend, and an integral part of our lives. His presence brought immeasurable joy, laughter, and warmth to countless moments we shared together.His passing leaves an irreplaceable void that will forever be felt within our hearts and in the lives he touched,” the wife, Mayimuna Nakayiira Kiyingi announced on Saturday afternoon.
She however didn’t reveal details and cause of Dr.Kiyingi’s death but said details of the funeral and memorial services shall be communicated in the due course.
Graduating from Makerere University with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery started traveling and studying widely around the world and during that period completed his specialist cardiology training in Sydney, Australia at Westmead and Concord Hospitals.
He became a consultant cardiologist in 1989 and later a consultant physician with extensive experience in tropical medicine.
He later specialized in general adult cardiology and echocardiography and his clinical interests include preventative cardiology, echocardiography, hypertension, and general medicine.
Kiyingi became popular around the early 2000s when he started dishing out cash to churches and NGOs around Kampala whenever he returned back home from Australia where he worked from.
Together with his wife the late Robinah Kiyingi, he was the proprietor of Dehezi International, a computer firm and internet service provider based in Kampala that later became popular by selling computers to schools and other organisations at subsidized fees.
Dehezi became a household name especially due to their connection with Mengo based CBS FM that the company helped build its radio website that enabled Ugandans abroad listen to the radio online.
Kiyingi’s became more popular when he was later accused of masterminding the murder of his wife, Robinah Kiyingi, a Kampala lawyer who was gunned down at her home in Buziga.
She was killed a few weeks to the ruling in a divorce case filed by Dr.Kiyingi in Mengo chief magistrate court after accusing the wife of adultery.
Kiyingi was arrested and charged over the murder but he was later released on bail.
He was later acquitted of killing his wife.
Many years later around 2015, he was accused of masterminding the murder of Muslim clerics in the country.
He was also accused of funding ADF activities.
Nakawa Magistrates court summoned Kiyingi to appear and answer charges of terrorism and murder and the court warned that he didnt show up, an arrest warrant would be issued.
The arrest warrant was later issued against him and police threatened to have him extradited from Australia to face charges of murder, terrorism, crimes against humanity and attempted murder.
According to the state, Kiyingi had offered training, recruitment and logistical support to rebels fighting to overthrow the Uganda government.
Prosecution said Kiyingi channeled the funds through his remanded relative Aisha Nakasibante and both were accused of complicity in the assassination of prominent Muslim clerics Sheikh Abdul Muwaya and Sheikh Mustafa Bahiga.
The DPP would however later discontinue terrorism charges against Dr.Kiyingi.
Shot at presidency
In 2015, Dr.Kiyingi announced plans to return to Uganda to challenge President Museveni in the 2016 general election.
Speaking to The Observer newspaper , Dr.Kiyingi who was then wanted for treason said he wanted to expose what he called President Museveni’s dirty political tricks.
He accused the president of fabricating the said charges out of fear of the challenge he poses to Museveni’s political life.
“I am only aware of what at the moment I describe as baseless allegations made in Ugandan newspapers about my alleged criminal role in various killings in Uganda,” he told the Observer.
“This is typical of dictator Museveni’s modus operandi; to intimidate opponents with smear campaigns and fabricate criminal charges in order to stop me from standing against him. Museveni has played a double game for far too long. I have started and will continue to expose Museveni for what he really is. Rest assured that I know Museveni’s tactics and I am not threatened or intimidated in anyway.”
However, his claims of returning to stand for presidency didn’t come to pass.
By the time of his death, Dr.Aggrey Kiyingi was no longer vocal, especially on social media as he did previously.
