{UAH} THE EDWARD MULINDWA EULOGY TO SSERUGANDA

Mukulu waffe Kayondo, Mwami Tonny Kiyimba, Omukyaala Annet Nassolo, Honorable Chris Opoka-Okumu, omukyala Zzimbe and to our son Oscar Kisekka, to all of you watching us on the webcast from all over the place, tubakubagiza kitalo nyo nyini dala !!!!!

February the third 2024, I got a message from Omukyaala Annett Nassolo in Cameroon, that Mukulu waffe Kayondo had authorized me to lay to rest the fallen soldier in this country, and that is exactly what I am standing here to do today.

The notes I am about to read run under a heading "I am loosing good men when scumbags, are prowling the streets of my city" We have good men only that they are quite a few and they are dying and very fast. John leads the line of good men that I have encountered in my life.  And who are in the line of good men you ask? Bakulu Mpagi Wamala, Omukulu Kasasa, Mwami Kafeero, I can add as well Oryema Johnson resting in the city of Ottawa, they were all good men. Today we are laying my dear friend and a good man Mitayo, a Sseruganda, into Toronto.

And who is a good man you ask? A good man is loyal to his people, is a man of his word, he protects those he loves, a straight shooter,  he treats every one with respect, he takes responsibly for himself and his actions, he expresses his emotions, he does not believe or hold on stereotypes. But a good man is noble, he respects family, he protects our kids, but defends the Uganda community. A good man does not start a conversation to a husband with "Whatever I am about to tell you don't tell it to your wife, or vice versa. Sseruganda has been a straight shooter, that never looked left or right before he made a statement, for he said it as he felt it had to be said.

Honorable I stand in front of you to raise the danger this community is facing, The Late Kyazze had a habit of not locking his door, for he believed that if a Ugandan is thirsty he can open the door and get a beer, and go on with the day, on talking to a Ugandan few days ago about the passing of Zzimbe, he told me that Ugandans are not going to burry Zzimbe for he does not attend Uganda dances, has he ever attended UNAA convention? Honorable I do not know how many Uganda dances you have attended, if they are not enough you are going to be left to dry out in the city Morgue.

I have lived with this man longer than many of you, we have lived on the same street for 17 straight years, I live on the North side as he lived on the south side. We have frequented on many times, we have kept ourselves into a small bar on Parliament and Gerrard, and our favorite drink has always been Jack Daniel. He calls it JD. His best song is Aldji by Sam Mangwana that has just played. He is not a dancer as I am not. He preferred to call me Sseruganda and I like wise called him Sseruganda

And who are the scumbags so you ask?  

I will give you a sample on how they behave and you probably know one or two out there. A Ugandan family lost a relative in this city, and the mother of the deceased went out to buy food for the community to eat as they console the family. A Ugandan man in this city, stood up with a bag in a family of the deceased when a mother is watching, and he packed some of the food, to take it and cook for his kids. "Oh well my kids need some chicken". He walked out for he felt that was right. When you pack the food from the deceased family to feed your own family, you are a Scumbag. Scumbags target our children, and our wives. There are scumbags that prowl this city for Uganda sponsored wives and date them. They date our children when they should father them as Sseruganda has been. To those go to Nairobi Canadian embassy, try applying for a visa to sponsor someone, let us see how that will go. Some of the scumbags are so weak that they cannot give women their last names, and the names of the good men keep on dragged through the mud when they simply shouldn't.

As I read these notes, we have an Ontario court hearing a case of a Ugandan, accused of "Allegedly" Molesting a Uganda kid in this city. Our problem in this city as a Uganda community, is not white people, it is not Police brutality or profiling, it is not racism, it is Ugandans that for some very unknown reason, decided to be scumbags for life. We have a Uganda doctor today that is on an Interpol wanted list for he jumped bail. By the way he is not the first Uganda doctor to be arrested as he is not going to be the last. Forget everything you know about this man but remember Seruganda is a good man !!!!!!

Allow me to walk you through the path that has lead us to this day   .

On the 24th September Sseruganda sent out an Instagram with a single sentence "I have spent the night at St Michael hospital" I am neither on Instagram nor on Facebook thus I did not read the message. Dr Charles Waana, a good man as well, read it and I did not know the Dr at the time. I kept on getting messages instructing me to look for John for he was in trouble. I knocked on his door and there was no response. Two days later I managed to get solid information to where he was and I drove to St Michael hospital where I found him. Since 26^th September, I have been on his bed every day, till he passed away February the second.   

I found him in isolation, they  gave me two nurses that shoveled me into hospital suits,  I walked into his room as an Astronaut.  Shook his hand and I  asked him what was the problem. He responded that he was dying in 4 days. Sseruganda  told me that the Doctors had given him six days to live two days ago thus leaves him 4 days. I told him that he was not dying and I was going to take him out of the hospital . I stayed with him that day for about 4 hours in that isolation room, and by the time I left, he had given me his house keys, he gave me phone numbers of important people he wanted me to keep, including Dr Charles Waana's phone number, he gave me information I will never release to anyone, and he appointed me his life decision maker. I immediately called Dr Waana and I appointed him a secondary decision maker on Seruganda.

Now that the big dogs had walked in, we wanted to take the right steps, and our first question was who is Sseruganda's doctor? It took a couple of days to be able to see the doctor, but we ended up earning a family meeting, in that meeting everybody showed up, and man they had some bad news for Sseruganda, he had no ability to take Chemo for he had no body mass, his lungs one was functioning at 20% the other at 40% he was breathing at 39%  to 40% Oxygen. We ended up agreeing that he gets removed from isolation to Palliative. In the days we sat with him we realized that he was not eating, so food was being brought in and he was leaving it there and taken back. So I asked him, why don't you eat? And he goes Hospital food is engineered to kill patients. We had a man that has no body mass and not eating. Dr Waana devised a new system where we not only bring him new fresh food but we took him high calorie Smoothies every day, sometimes two sometimes three. He had to have a smoothie every day for that was nutrients going in. His body came back. As doctors were selling us how Cancer kills appetite, smoothies were passing in to his bed. He was transferred to palliative on fourth floor, back to ICU then palliative and the smoothies continued to follow him.

We not only encouraged him to eat we encouraged him to get off the bed and put weight on his legs, and on 18^th November 2023 I encouraged him to stand on his feet which he did, Seruganda not only stood on his feet we walked out of his room to the palliative care nursing station, passed it to the end of the hall way, the Nursing station became ecstatic, that is the day we took that photograph. He walked several times and he started to show signs of improoving. His skin became better, his eating improved, he gained more strength in his hands and upper body. Dr Waana left the country for Uganda and I stayed on him, as I send updates to Dr Waana daily. On 29^th November he was transferred from St Michael hospital to Kensington Hospice. Our watch continued on as always, and we took him high calories smoothies every single day.

On 11^th January I realized that he had started to weaken, thus I asked him if he was good for a drive, Sseruganda agreed, and the Hospice was informed that we were going for a drive, I wheeled him out and sat him  in a car, it was tricky but we managed. I took him all way to Dufferin and College where was his first address in the city, and we drove all way to the Food basic store where he lived across. He turns around and goes, Edward you promised to do everything I want? And I said yes, he goes that is my home take me home. That told me that his brain was still good. But his apartment was on the third floor, stairs, we both knew we would never make it, we laughed about it. He sent me to his house and advised me the neighbors he wanted to talk to, and I called them to the car and they had a chat. It was a good day for both of us. As I was walking to the building, I saw the superintendent of the building, and she goes, so how is John doing? I told her John was in the car just across the street, and before I left I asked her if she is not going to say hello, the super says "Yes I would love to say hello but John does not like me" And in my head I said that is my straight shooter.

From his home he wanted us to go through St Michael hospital, Princess Margret and through Kensington Market where he spent so many hours as a volunteer, he asked for a Smoothie and we went to Toronto West where we bought one, then I drove him back to the Hospice. That was the last drive John had in life.  From that day Sseruganda only lost more and more energy, that even wheeling him out of the room started to become complicated. We have had a very good understanding in this relationship that if he does not feel strong enough he tells me and I do not move him, those times of I cannot go out became more and more. On 23^rd January the Hospice asked for an authorization that a 24 hour camera be put in Sseruganda's room, for he moves from his bed and walk when he is un attended to, and he can fall, I authorized the camera to be installed. On the 29^th January the camera was pulled out for Sseruganda would no longer pull himself off the bed.

I continued visiting him daily, but we reached a point that when I walk in and squeeze his hand he would not give me the squeeze back to notice that he is aware I am in the room, 2^nd February I sat with him for about an hour and half, I left his room at about 5 45pm, and at about 8 15 or there about the hospice called me to notify. I called Dr Waana, MP Chris Opoka-Okumu, I called Jane Namubiru and I will explain why I made that phone call, then I called his family at large for notification. I walked to the Hospice with Dr Waana we stayed with Seruganda till when the funeral home arrived, the Hospice created a function for him, and we handed him to the funeral home vehicle. Since the 2^nd February I have not seen Sseruganda till today, and probably today is the last day I will see him.   ->Probably !!!!!!

I need to raise the name of Jane Namubiru. It surprised me that in all Ugandans in this city, and both men and women, in all people that claim to know Sseruganda, in all degree holders we have, in all those that went to school with John or those he educated, only Nambiru walked into St Michael hospital and registered herself as a friend of Seruganda. And yes Seruganda needed the big dogs for he was in trouble, but Namubiru connected the time he walked into the hospital to when the big dogs showed up. Thank you Jane Namubiru for making that decision.

I have said so many times that Ugandans have a problem with information management.  We have suffered a great deal with information mismanagement as we sit with Sseruganda that has been very sensitive with information, and I am going to give you three examples of how Ugandans have been complicated to deal with during their visitations. To his death Sseruganda rejected the idea that he has cancer, thus we never talked to him about the subject for that was a circle he created for himself, a Ugandan walks in and the first word out of the mouth is "So what kind of cancer do you have"? He has never talked about his family,  but when a Ugandan walks in the first question becomes "now that you are this sick, have you informed your family back home"? Sseruganda hated taking photographs, November the 30^th he allowed me to take that photograph, I sent it  to Dr Waana and Akanga that were in Uganda. Akanga gets it and sends it to a Ugandan in South Africa, and that Ugandan sent it to his family and the family sent it right back to him. That created such a problem for we had to clean up that mess for Ugandans are very poor in managing information.

To St Michael hospital, to princess Margret, to Kensington hospice, kindly allow me to use the very same words I used at our Hospice exit. Yes I know we have been very hard patients to deal with, we have not been easy, on behalf of the Zzimbe entire family, I apologize of the short comings that happened. For they happened. And that sorry is across the entire board. From doctors to specialists, to the nurses, to those that took care of us when we had BMs, to you name it. If we threw an F-bomb at you, on behalf of the entire Zzimbe family I apologize. Your job should never be that complicated and you need to be respected but treated better than what we offered. One positive thing though, I actually specialize in going after people's jobs, but yours are safe for I would never ever dare. To Ugandans that kept tap on us thank you, yes we know the Lui's, the Kavuma's, the Ssewaya's, we have been in your thoughts all along, Winnie Byanyima thank you  for reaching out, thank you all for everything. My relationship with Seruganda, was built on one core, whenever I take him anywhere I bring him back to his home, today, I have to figure out and very quickly, if I want to take him where I know I can never bring him back to his home.

And I Thank you !!!!!!!!!! 

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