John Kazoora was remembered at a funeral service at All Saints Cathedral, Nakasero, on Wednesday as a man of character and a true patriot.
Attendees at the service were told John Kazoora’s character allowed him not
to be swayed from telling the truth to power.
From a childhood friend, his children, wife and former workmates, John
Kazoora, who died early this week at the age of 67, feared God more than he feared people.
They noted that his legacy is going to last for some time.
John Kazoora was among the young men who escaped from Makerere University
to join the NRA bush war that brought President Museveni to power.
He served as Special District Administrator for Kabale and Kampala. He was
also the director
for political affairs at the Internal Security Organisation (ISO) during the early years of the NRA/NRM government.
John Kazoora served in the Sixth and Seventh
Parliaments representing Kashaari Country. He is survived by a wife, Naome
Kabasharira, the Rukiga County Member of Parliament. He has left behind four
boys, which popularly referred to as the
gang of four.
Rt. Rev. Dr. Hannington Mutebi, who led the service, said
John Bashaija Kazoora lived a practical life as a Christian.
“When you hear his story, there is a book
that he launched but disappeared, and he spoke his mind. And that is John,”
Bishop Mutebi remarked.
///Cue
In” He lived a life…..
Cue
Out….men and women like that”///
Dr. Mutebi was referring to a Memoir by John Kazoora
titled “Betrayed by My Leader"
“I’m sure that those who knew John will continue to
benefit from having known him. His deeds
will continue to encourage and bless us. All of the present can impact
people even when we die,” he said.
Former Deputy Inspector General
of Police, Major General Steven Sabiiti Muzeyi, speaking as a family member and on
behalf of the UPDF, said Kazoora.
He hailed the late for having served under the
National Resistance Army at the age of 24. Kazoora joined the NRA in 1982.
Major General Sabiiti said Kazoora’s life was
marked with what he described as unwavering patriotism.
///Cue
In “We have been …
Cue
Out……this country was facing”///
A
man of character
Albert
Asiimwe Kazoora said his father was masterful and skilful with words when he
spoke. “He loved us fearlessly. There was nothing that you could tell him that
was contrary to what he knew of us and what he saw in us,” said Asiimwe.
///Cue
in “My father was …..
Cue
Out….stand in your way.”///
Akampurira
Dalton Kazoora, the youngest son of Naome Kabasharira and John Kazoora, sent his
eulogy from Canada.
It was read by Romeo Kazoora. He said their father laid
their foundations for their future. “The
foundation that he laid for the future that has been built and is still being
built remains strong and steadfast”
///Cue
In “While there are many…..
Cue
Out… how tough it might be”///
According
to the children, the late Kazoora taught them how they should treat people and
how they should react to how they treat them.
He taught them to be patient
and humble, but without compromising their courage to go against all odds.
Character
shaped by school?
With
the passing of John Kazoora, his close friend, Hannington Karuhanga revealed
that his character might have been shaped by Nyakasura School, where Kazoora
went in the mid-seventies before joining Makerere University.
Kazoora was
reportedly part of the “Tough Six” group of boys during their days at
Nyakasura. Others included the late General Benon Biraro, Hannington
Karuhanga, Ben and Edward Tukasingura and Charles Kalira.
Karuhanga
told mourners that Nyakasura, having been founded by a Captain of the Navy, was
structured like a military school.
“Some
of the values that you see are structured around two things. The way
you were nurtured and nature,” he said.
He
explained that most of the values that reflected John Kazoora’s character could
have come from his upbringing by his mother, Manjeri and his late father, Enock
Kazoora.
John
Kazoora had in interviews testified that both of his parents were tough in
parenting. His father, who served in the 7th King's African Rifles
and later was a driver in the then Ankole Kingdom, was a strict disciplinarian.
“In
Manjeri, what you saw is what you got. There was nothing. So I’m not surprised,” Karuhanga testified.
///Cue In “So the way……
….okay
times have changed”///
John
Kazoora and Hannington Karuhanga were class captains at Nyakasura, helping the
school to ensure strict discipline. While he was a leader, Karuhanga remembers
that Kazoora was equally stubborn.
It
said that having been provoked by David Tinyefunza aka David Sejjusa, Kazoora and
the late Benon Biraro once arranged to burn the school’s bookstore. Karuhanga
said, but the two listened to him and restrained from executing their heinous
action.
Stories
are also told of how Kazoora and others had made arrangements to kill one of their
teachers who would subject them to canes, but later in the evening, move around
their village trying to woo a girl who stayed near Rutooma Primary School.
At
Makerere, Kazoora and Karuhanga became student leaders at Northcote and
Nkurumah Halls.
///Cue
Out “ John was very..
Cue
out ….. found ways to help”////
In 1981,
President Milton Obote abolished the Students' Guild at Makerere University
following student protests against the 1980 elections.
These
protests were fueled by a belief that the elections, which brought Obote to
power, were rigged. It is around this time that Kazoora, Dr Kiiza Besigye, and the late Ely Tumwine fled the University to join the war in Luwero.
“The
traits that we see today, when I reflect over fifty-one and a half years, were already embedded. I would like to encourage the young people today that
the community services that we talk about, how else would John live? The truth,
the honesty, the firm. That was embedded,” said Karuhanga.
The
Rukiga county MP, Naome Kabasharira, has been married to John Kazoora since
2009. She belongs to the ruling NRM party, while he belongs to the Forum for
Democratic Change and later the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT).
She
told mourners that the late was quite understanding that even when they did not
agree on certain issues, they could not be separated.
“It
is a tendency at times in this country, when one belongs to another party, he is
regarded as an enemy. I think John and I demystified that.”
Museveni
did not abandon Kazoora
Apart
from surviving the bullets during a five-year guerrilla war in Luwero, John
Kazoora has on several occasions survived having spent several days under intensive
care at hospitals in Uganda, Nairobi and Turkey.
Kabasharira said part of the
reason why he has survived is because of the number of friends who made
financial contributions to his treatment. He has been battling against diabetes
from the time he joined the Seventh Parliament.
While
many believed that Kazoora had parted ways with his leader, Yoweri Museveni, whom
he accused of betrayal, Kabasharira said Museveni never abandoned his war comrade
at his deathbed.
“His Excellency the
President can never forget those people who fought with him in the bush. When someone
is sick, they would come in. When he learned of it, he also sent money,” she
revealed.
///Cue In “John you know…
Cue Out…..when everyone has given up”////
John Kazoora liked playing cards and chess during
his free time. The funeral service in Kampala was attended by several dignitaries, including the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Thomas Tayebwa, former Chief Justice, Bert Katureebe, former Minister and Chancellor of Makerere University,
Professor Mondo Kagonyera, former leader of the opposition, Wafula Oguttu,
among others.
