By Leonard Kamugisha Akida,
KAMPALA
Former president of the Forum for Democratic Change – FDC, Rt. Col. Dr. Kizza Besigye has condemned attempts by the Najjanankumbi faction to block the body of the fallen party activist, Sarah Eperu from being taken to Katonga for public viewing.
It is reported that members of Najjanankumbi led by Patrick Amuriat and Nandala Mafabi visited the deceased home in Kireka seeking the family’s consent to pick her body from Mulago mortuary, which request was refused because she (Eperu) had wished before her death that her body should be taken to the Katonga road office and not to the FDC Najjanankumbi headquarters.
Speaking at the public viewing of the body at Katonga road this afternoon, Besigye accused Najjanankumbi of abandoning Sarah at the time she needed them the most only to show up with expensive casket and A-plus funeral services to claim her body.
“If you want to bury someone, do not wait for the body because he / she will no longer be there. Nurse, treat, massage and comfort the person who is willing,” Besigye said.
He noted that burying someone is not buying expensive caskets and added, “If people keep buying expensive caskets, I am about to make a will that my body be burnt so that I see those who are waiting with their caskets what they will carry.”
” The body is a body, it’s nothing. You go to Mulago to steal a body for what?” Besigye asked challenging Najjanankumbi faction for disrespecting the deceased.
Sarah, a former spokesperson of the FDC women’s league passed away on Sunday at Life Link hospital Namugongo.
Ten of thousands mourners from different political spectrums on Thursday 11th April, 2024 gathered at FDC Katonga faction offices on Katonga road – the home of the struggle to pay their last tributes to Sarah.
The interim faction president, Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago quoting a book authored by former Supreme Court Judge, George William Kanyeihamba; “The joy and blessings of being who you are,” said; ” Sarah lived the way she was born. She was born a fighter and I am sure as she lays in that casket, she is at peace at her heart that she has fulfilled a mission God bestowed on her because we are all meant to serve humanity and Sarah has done precisely that.”
Lukwago however, decried the crisis of credible leaders caused by the ruling government and raised concerns about the high cost of doing businesses in Uganda following the central bank increase of bank rate to 10.25 percent and unquestionable taxes introduced by URA.
“Mr. Museveni’s main preoccupation is to create a leadership crisis in this country so that he survives with his monarchy. And we have to deal with it, we have to contend with that so, credible leaders are very few when you lose one, we have all the reasons to mourn, cry and shed tears,” he said pointing out the recent bickerings in political parties, business communities where the president has allegedly created semi-leadership factions to fight mainstream leaderships leading to scrambling economy and political divisionism.
He said Ugandan businessmen are already chocking on loans urging opposition politicians to put aside their differences and deal with this crisis.
The former Rubaga South MP John Ken Lukyamuzi the man tasked legislators from the opposition not to warm seats in parliament but to stand up on their feet and act to change the situation in the country. He mourned Sarah as a liberator of freedom, and fighter of both women and men in Uganda.
