Former Busoga Kingdom premier, Jinja SS headteacher Mutengu is dead

At Jinja SS from the late 1980s to early 1993 when he was appointed prime minister of the kingdom, he headed the most populous school in East and Central Africa.

Former Busoga Kingdom prime minister and renowned educator Keith Mutengu has died, according to various sources.

Mr Julius Mucunguzi, the in-coming head of public relations at the Electoral Commission posted on X that he had received the sad news of the death of his 1990s headmaster at Jinja Secondary School.

The late Mutengu, said to have been a centenarian, had been battling with age related ailments from his home in Mpumudde, a suburb in Kimaka, Jinja City.

"When I joined S1 at Jinja SSS in 1989, Mr Mutengu, an elegant gentleman, was the headteacher who signed off my admission letter," said Mr Mucunguzi, who remembers the former Katukiro of Obwa Kyabazinga bwa Busoga as a "father figure in the school."

"Mr Mutengu was a most respected, almost feared administrator, who said few words--but each word he uttered carried a lot of weight," he added.

The late Mutengu was an educator who headed several schools in eastern Uganda at both primary and secondary levels.

He was a headteacher at Mwiri Primary School and later of Busoga College, Mwiri, as well as Manjasi High School in Tororo, where veteran journalist Alfred Geresom Musamali says he was nicknamed "Young Man" - for referring to every male student in his school as such.

At Jinja SS from the late 1980s to early 1993 when he was appointed prime minister of the kingdom, he headed the most populous school in East and Central Africa.

The population of Jinja SSS was at a mind-boggling 2,000-strong.

Revered elder

The late Mutengu was a revered elder in Busoga kingdom and the entire sub-region. He strived to forge unity throughout his liefe.

He had been the chairperson Busoga Kingdom clan heads. The kingdom is made up of 11 hereditary chiefdoms - Bugabula, Bulamogi, Kigulu, Luuka, Bukono, Busiki, Bugweri, Bukooli, Bunya, Bunyole and Butembe.

When Kyabazinga William Nadiope instituted a Roll of Honours for Basoga men and women who have distinguished themselves in public life as transformational leaders, servants and inspired to the people, among the those feted was Mutengu.

He was recognised with the "Omwooyo Gwa Busoga" medal for his exemplary contribution in diligently in protecting, nurturing and upholding Busoga’s culture, heritage and selflessness.

The awards on June 22, 2019, at Bugembe also went to former Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga and former Miss World Africa Quiin Abenakyo.

The late Mutengu shot to public life in 1999 at the restoration of traditional monarchs when Kyabazinga Henry Wako Muloki picked him as his first prime minister.

Muloki chose Mutengu to help tackle Busoga’s problems.

And those problems were many as the Kyabazinga outlined in his maiden speech that promised a speedy revival of the kingdom's fortunes based on six key areas that Mutengu had named after the six vowels - “a, e, i, o, and u".

They were agriculture, education, industry, organisation and unity.

Muloki's could not have made a better choice than in the seasoned educator, who would show where the vision of Busoga lay when he presented an 11-page memorandum to President Museveni on July 25, 1993.

Busoga, Mutengu's office said, needed to exploit a faithful capacity and voluntary will to unite its people under a recognisable, acceptable and progressive social-cultural leadership.

"Short of this we are first turning into a mediocre, or even substandard, ethnic community that could easily and inevitably be relegated to the lowest rungs of national leadership," the addendum said, according to Daily Monitor.

"Poverty has become the staple way of life in most rural parts of Busoga. In real terms, neither do the Basoga living in town enjoy comparable success and affluence like the members of other communities.

Mutengu left the post of katukiro in 1999 following a bout of ill-health. He was succeeded by William Kiwagama.