By Lawrence Mayanja
At the age of 87 years, Engineer Henry Yiga Kizza lived a healthy life until he complained of some simple internal pains.
As an old man who was not always sickly, Eng. Kizza was taken to Mengo Hospital for medical checkup. Unfortunately, the relatives were shocked after he was declared dead after spending some few hours at the hospital.
The post mortem report pointed at cardiac arrest, which is simply the unexpected loss of heart function, breathing and consciousness.
A resident of Kabira Mawokota in Mpigi district, Eng. Henry Yiga Kizza is the father of the former Assistant Inspector General of Police Fred Yiga.
Rtd. AIGP Yiga says the old man (Eng. Kizza) was healthy and physically fit until he started complaining of a few internal pains.
“Through my acquaintances, a team of medical experts were contacted in which recommendations were made to have him attend medical checkups in Mengo Hospital. His demise came as a shock to all of us. Dad was healthy and had never suffered any complications before,” said Yiga, concluding that this was indeed his time to meet his creator.
Yiga says: “Dad was a great father, uncle, brother and boss that did his best to educate and guide us through life.
Eng. Kizza is said to have breathed his last breath at 5:30pm, on November 30, 2023 while at Mengo Hospital where he had been taken for medical checkup.
A great Christian he was, Kizza was buried at his home at Kabira Mawokota in Mpigi district, 27 miles on Masaka Road.
Biography
According to AIGP Yiga, his dad was a man to recon with. He was born on August 30, 1936, at Bulerejje, Muduuma sub-county, Mpigi District. He attained education at Ggoli Full Primary School, St Mary’s College Kisubi and at the College of Aeronautical and Automobile Engineering, Chelsea, London where he graduated as an Agricultural Engineer in June, 1964.
Eng. Kizza had a long working career as a civil servant with the Ministry of Agriculture. He worked in several places, among which were; Namalere Agricultural Mechanization Unit, Serere Research Station and as a District Agricultural Mechanic Lira.
He was also; the Mechanical Cultivation Officer Northern Region stationed at Gulu, District Agricultural Mechanic Busoga, Arapai Agricultural College as lecturer in Agricultural Engineering, Regional Agricultural Engineer, Buganda Region, Service engineer Uganda Development Corporation (at ECTA U Ltd), and finally Kampala City Council as a Workshop Supervisor.
Eng. Kizza also attained Local Council roles for a number of years and Chairperson of Mpigi District Land Board.
He led a distinguished civil service life, performed his work in an exemplary manner and portrayed a true image of a civil servant.
Burial
His burial was attended by a cross section of Ugandans, from top caliber, middle class and grass root. Key among those present were the Clergy, Madam Amelia Kyambadde, RDCs, MPs senior departmental heads in the Ministry of Agriculture, Uganda Police Force, Uganda Prisons Service, representatives from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution, Mpigi District officials, CAOs, high ranking Mengo officials and a whole range of grass root dignitaries.
The former Trade Minister, Amelia Kyambade said that the late was a great mentor to many and his distinguished services at the district and the country at large has yielded fruits of success.
Kyambadde implored mourners to cultivate the spirit of nationalism and educate their children as the basic investment.
The Member of Parliament for Mawokota constituency, Dr. Hillary Kiyaga alias Hilderman also expressed sadness at the loss of an elder whom he referred to as an icon of hope for his constituency. Kiyaga pledged his commitment to standing with the family at all times.
Eng. Kizza’s children emulated him so well and demonstrated a well cultured public appearance which they obviously copied from him.
A well-known police officer in the country, Fred Yiga, gave hope to the multitudes of mourners that with no doubt he ably carried on the legacy of his father until his retirement time from the Uganda Police Force.
His speech gave a lesson to everyone that bringing up children responsibly pays greatly when parents are in need.
Lying in the middle of the multitudes of mourners, Eng. Kizza was accorded a dignified and befitting send-off. Speaker after speaker thanked AIGP Rtd Fred Yiga for having served his country well, just like his father did.
In her speech, the Mpigi Woman Member of Parliament, Teddy Nambooze expressed dismay on the Government`s poor health systems saying if the government had prioritized decentralizing the best health and fully equipped hospitals, there would be no need of driving long distances to Mengo hospital in case of an emergency yet Mpigi district has got a government health unit. Nambooze also used the opportunity to ask mourners and especially parents to emulate Eng Kizza to morally raise their children so that they can walk into the footprints of the Rtd. AIGP Yiga.
She referred to the former Police boss (AIGP Yiga) as a great icon whose services in the Uganda Police Force helped to transform the country’s security.
“To be realistic, this would not have been the case if Eng. Kizza had not given proper education and grooming to his children,” she emphasized.
One of the clan members and Director with SWICO, Joseph William Kiwanuka eulogized the late as a strong cultural pillar whose loss is a big blow to the Buganda Kingdom.
Kiwanuka said that as a royal servant to Buganda Kingdom, who wholeheartedly made regular contributions to the kingdom affairs financially and material.
“We shall dearly miss him, but we are optimistic that he is in a better place given his relationship with God,” he said. He also encouraged the family members to stay united and uplift the name of their father even after his death.