By Naboth Isaac Niwagaba
President Yoweri Museveni has paid tribute to the late John Barisigara, the ICT Officer at the Ministry of Local Government, who died in a tragic accident last week.
Museveni was yesterday represented by the State Minister of Finance, general duties, Henry Musasizi, as the Chief Mourner at the burial mass of the late Barisigara held at St. John’s Ikumba Catholic Church in Hamurwa Town Council, Rubanda District.
In his condolence message read by Minister Musasizi, who doubles as Rubanda East MP, Museveni said he received with grief the news of the death of John Barisigara on Thursday last week. He described the late as a hardworking civil servant at the Ministry of Local Government, a strong pillar to his family in the Kigezi subregion and the country at large.
“I came to know the deceased’s family through his late father, who was a member of the Parliament of Rubanda in the 1960s. My heartfelt condolences and sympathies go to you, the mother of the deceased, Mrs. Legis Barisigara, her siblings, relatives, and friends,” the president’s speech read in part.
Museveni’s condolence message was delivered with U.G. Shs. 10 million, which was handed to the mother of the deceased. Minister Musasizi also delivered U.G. Shs. 5 million, together with a condolence statement from the Ministry of Finance, which employs Joseph Barisigra, the elder brother of the deceased.
Musasizi further revealed that President Museveni had pledged to support the unemployed grandchildren of Mrs. Legis Barisigara by either helping them to get jobs or supporting them financially to set up their own business enterprises.
“After learning about the death of John, President Museveni told me he wanted to speak to the mother and comfort her, which I arranged. During the phone call with the President, she mentioned a few needs, and I have been following them up. One of the tasks is to collect the C.V.s of the grandchildren so that he (Museveni) can find jobs for them or support them with capital to begin their own businesses,” Musasizi said.
In their lengthy speech, Mrs. Peace Barisigara, wife of the deceased, and her four children described the late man as a caring father who never delegated parental duties to anyone else.
The Kabale Catholic Diocesan Priest of Kakore Rugambwa Parish, Rev. Fr. Herbert Agaba, presided over the burial mass, and he described the late John Barisigara as a committed Christian, leader, and cheerleader.
According to the Chairperson of the Rubanda District Service Commission, who is also a member of the Barisigara family, Dr. Narcis Kabatereine, the late John Barisigara met his death on the early morning of Thursday along the Kampala–IIganga road as he moved to Karamoja on official duties. Police reports say that his driver rammed into an incoming trailer as he tried to dodge a sugar cane track that was moving without lights at night.
“They were following a sugar cane truck that had no lights at the back. It apparently reduced speed, and they realized that they were about to hit it from behind. The driver tried to swerve around the vehicle and overtake it on the right, but he collided into an incoming trailer on the other side. The trailer crashed their car, killing John on the spot,” Kabatereine explained.
He added that the car was crashed beyond recognition, but the driver luckily survived with severe injuries, and he was responding well to treatment at Mulago National Referral Hospital.
Barisigara died at age 53. He was married for 19 years, producing two boys and two girls with his wife, Peace Barisigara. His body was laid to rest at their ancestral home in Karukara Parish, Hamurwa Subcounty, Rubanda District.
