State of Blood author Henry Kyemba dead

Former minister and retired politician Henry Kyemba has died at 84, a close family member confirmed to The Nile Post on Thursday morning.

The retired  civil servant turned politician by accident served as a permanent secretary, private personal secretary and much later a cabinet minister in the Idi Amin administration serving in the docket of health.

Shrewd, and intrepid are some of the adjectives that those that worked close to him use as perfect descriptions while others have described him as a man with high emotional intelligence and master of knowing how to handle people from different walks of life as he had mastered how to handle his boss Idi Amin in the 1970s.

Kyemba, who was on a delegation that went with Obote to Singapore in 1971 received with shock the news of the coup in Uganda that had toppled his boss.

He spent a short spell with Dr. Obote in exile (Tanzania) before returning to Uganda where Idi Amin was the head of state.

Amin immediately ordered Kyemba to report back to his office to continue serving in the previous capacity as principal private secretary and he did exactly that until his boss made him the permanent secretary and eventually health cabinet minister.

Kyemba was one of the first persons in government to reveal details about the mysterious deaths of hundreds of Ugandans during the Amin regime including the death of Archbishop Janan Luwum along with two other ministers Erinayo Wilson Oryema and Charles Oboth Fumbi.

In his book, ‘A State of Blood’ he says that, “The bodies were filled with bullets” casting doubt on the official narrative of the government that they had died in an accident.

According to Edith Grace Sempala, a former diplomat, Kyemba represents the truth about any regime.

In an interview with Nile Post, Sempala said, “Every regime, bad as it may be, will always have good people in it. So, Idi Amin’s regime had a good person in Kyemba.“

Believed to be born on 8th February 1939 to Suzana Babirizangawo Mutekanga and Suleiman Kisajja, a colonial administrator in the Bunya County in Busoga, he attended local primary schools, before joining Busoga College Mwiri for his Cambridge School Certificate (1951-1956).

He was at Makerere University between 1957 and 1962 and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) History and holds a master's degree in history from Northwestern University, Evanston and a Certificate in African studies from the same university. He also holds an Honours degree in history from London University.

Henry Kyemba will be buried at his ancestral home in Busoga and burial preparations are underway, said the close family member.