Article below and photo from the New Vision of Sunday, 20th June, 2010 : http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/25/723325
Celebrating the life of the first Ugandan graduate teacher
By Constantine Odongo
and Harriette Onyalla
THE boys sang, their voices so divine! In the gallery of St. Mary’s College Kisubi Chapel, the resonance of song of the school choir (Cherubim) made hearts flutter with pride. Next to the altar, stood the casket of John Chrysostom Kiwanuka, in beautifully chiselled wood.
His life has come to an end, yet he lives on. For great men never die; they leave behind a light that illuminates the paths for generations to come.
Kiwanuka, no doubt, was a great man; the greatness that began with humility.
In 1951, JC, as he was fondly called, returned from the prestigious Nottingham University in London after graduating with a degree in Mathematics. In September that year, he was appointed a teacher at St. Mary’s College Kisubi (SMACK), one of the prestigious schools in the country.
But this appointment came with a hitch. There was only one teachers’ house (Brothers' Residence) with several bedrooms, a communal living room and kitchen which brothers shared as there were no lay teachers on staff. However, being the only teacher with no religious training, meant JC could not share accommodation with the Brothers. Until this point, only Brothers of Christian instruction taught at the school.
According to Paul Kawanga Ssemwogerere, the former Democratic Party President, the school administration offered JC a small room next to the Sickbay. As the only teacher in the country with a degree, JC could have declined the appointment on grounds of lack of good accommodation to get re-posted to another school that befitted him. After all, he was the only Ugandan teacher in the country with a University degree, but he did not.
“Teachers’ quarters were out of bounds to students. I was the only one who used to go to his house because I was the head prefect. It was a tiny room but having meals together with the Brothers helped a lot,” Ssemwogerere said.
But this was not to be the end of the graduate teacher’s woes. Having been posted to SMACK by the Ministry of Education (Correction: the Late J C applied to the then Secretary for Catholic Schools so that he is appointed to teach in his former school (SMACK. The Brothers decided to put him on probation.
“The Brothers did not want someone new to take on teaching a subject like Mathematics, so they made him teach Geography, in the lower classes,” said the Prime Minister, Henry Kajura, one of JC’s oldest students.
But the stout, deep-voiced fresh graduate took this in stride. His manner soon became infectious. He made friends among the staff and won the admiration of his students, most of whom coveted his Nottingham University blazer and black leather shoes.
“He was a terrific person. When he donned his Nottingham jacket, we were mesmerised. But he spoke too fast because of the influence of his years in Britain. At one time we complained about it but the headmaster told us to give him time. With time we not only got used to the way he spoke, but also began mimicking his speech,” Kajura said, causing laughter among the mourners.
And that was the mood during JC’s Requiem Mass. Memories of humour, of the disciplinarian, of passion, of JC — the man with an illustrious life that began on July 27, 1919.
Early life
JC was born to the Late Simeo and Donatina Katuba in Kasaala, Luweero district.
He went for 'mugigi' (religious instruction) in 1929, before joining Primary One and Primary Two, then known as elementary vernacular school, which he completed in 1930.
JC attended classes three and four, now Primary Three and Four, in 1931 and 1932 before joining Lubaga Middle/High School in 1933, where he began learning English. In 1935, he joined Kitovu Middle/High School and then St. Mary’s College Kisubi in 1937, where he was fated to return and put his best foot forward in educating men who would one day sit at the helm of the development of this nation.
JC’s class was the second in the school to write the Cambridge School Certificate Examinations in 1940.
“Interestingly, Makerere College was then not accepting the Cambridge School Certificate for admission. He, therefore, had to take the Makerere Entrance examinations, too, both of which he passed well,” Monsignor Charles Kasibante, the Vicar General of Kampala Archdiocese, said.
However, JC was not allowed to choose the subjects to major in at Makerere College, which was at the time offering only diploma courses. However, Kiwanuka’s benefactor, Bishop Joseph-Georges-Édouard Michaud wanted him to become a teacher. He graduated with a diploma in education in 1943.
For two years, he taught at Nandere Primary School and transferred to Lubaga Junior School to follow up his scholarship Buganda Government under Mutesa II to study in United Kingdom and later at Nottingham University.
“For heaven’s sake do not pass water on the roadside!” Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura, the Inspector General of Police, said JC remarked during the orientation week when he had just joined for Higher School at SMACK in 1974. The boys roared with laughter, but it stuck in their minds because of the way JC had said it. “Every time you tried to do otherwise, your mind would replay the warning and you would zip up and look for the nearest toilet,” Kayihura added.
Isaac Mawejje, who was in the last class JC taught before he retired in 2001, said JC always taught them the importance of hard work.
“If you do not work hard, you will end up washing the panties of girls from Gayaza High School, who will be having big jobs in future,” Mawejje, now working with Post Bank, recalls JC telling them. To the teenage boys, the thought of ending up as house workers for the girls they were always trying to impress was not welcome.
Later responsibilities
As the President of the St. Mary’s Old Boys’ Association, the Association made an appointment with Governor Andrew Cohen to discuss the High School Certificate (HSC) in the school. On August 19, 1956 , on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of the College, the Governor said he had allowed the school to start teaching HSC (now A’ level).
As an education minister in the short-lived 1961 Democratic Party Government, JC, who had been the President of the Uganda Teachers’ Association (UTA)knew the problems that existed in the profession. Consequently, through the Lawrence Commission Report with some adjustment, their Government improved teachers’ salaries and conditions of service, enacted the teachers’ pension scheme, equalled salaries of male, female lay and religious teachers. They also awarded 300 scholarships to suitable candidates in all walks of life including tailors and shoe makers.
The education ministry under JC also started HSC in girls’ schools like Gayaza High School, St. Mary’s Namagunga and Trinity College Nabbingo Other schools like Bishop’s SSS Mukono, Kibuli SSS, Christ the King Girls’ School Kalisizo, Mary Hill High School, Lubiri SSS, and Kiira College built by the Kyabazinga, were given initial government grants. The board of governor’s rules for senior secondary schools and teachers’ colleges were also enacted during this short time.
And yet, Kiwanuka still returned to teach at SMACK in the evenings.
According to Dr. George Mayanja, one of his former students, Kiwanuka’s dream of making 50 years of service got a hitch on his 47th year of service when he clocked retirement age. The Government stopped paying his salary but five SMACK Old Boys made sure the ageing man achieved his dream. They contributed money monthly to cater for his upkeep, until he clocked 50 years in service.
The house to which he retired in Kawuku trading centre, off Entebbe Road, was bought for him by the SMACK Board of Governors. JC has been living on his pension and occasional help from some Old Boys of St. Mary's College Kisubi.
At his granddaughter’s Sisterhood the day he died, his grandchildren realised JC was not well. But he ate, drank and danced with them.
It later turned out it was his farewell. When his children dropped him home, Kiwanuka, who had been battling with cancer of the vocal chords, went to his bedroom and breathed his last.
Charles Mbire, a Kampala businessman, and one of Kiwanuka’s old students, had offered to take him abroad for treatment, but the old man declined, saying he was ready to meet his maker.
Florah Mugwanya, one of his seven children, talked about a time when, at 16 years, in Senior Four vacation, she was teaching at Savio Junior School.
“One day it rained and I did not go to teach. Dad came back and found me at home. When I told him why I had not gone to work, he went to his bedroom and wrote me a note: ‘Where there is work, there is no rain’,” Mugwanya, now an accountant in London, said.
She said their mother, Hilda Nabitaka Kiwanuka, died when she was only 12 and their father took on the responsibility of raising them up single-handed.
After the Requiem Mass, the Late J C Kiwanuka’s body was put to public viewing which took quite some time. The mourners were invited to a heavy lunch courtesy of St. Mary’s College Kisubi. For this, it’s a thumbs-up for Brother Bukenya and all the parties that were involved in the preparation.
J C’s body was transported from SMACK at past 3.00pm. At least the only and only Major General Kale Kaihura provided a minimal of three cars for escort. One patrol was on the lead, a small car and another at the end of the convoy! The body and those who accompanied it arrived around 6.00pm at the village home of the Late J C Kiwanuka.
On Thursday 17th June 2010 the day for the burial of the Late J C had Mass which started around 11.00am. The Police band was in place to add colour to the function. Unfortunately, Bishop Semwogerere was not around but he delegated to Father Sebugwawo who was together with Mons. Charles Kasibante Vicar General; Kampala Archdiocese a relative of the late J C Kiwanuka.
The mourners were so many that when it came to serving food it proved so hard to serve them well. I can say, the children and relatives of J C Kiwanuka were overwhelmed by the love the Late was shown and they are so grateful.
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