His son, Moses Bintu Imbethe, says that they have spent close to Shillings 200million to treat their father in the last three years after developing health complications that condemned him to a wheelchair.
The family of Eziron Bwambale Imbethe Malimali, the former Deputy
Culture and Community Development Minister in the Milton Obote government has
made an appeal for financial support to treat their ailing father.
Bwambale is confined in a wheelchair at his country home in Kinyamaseke
Town Council in Kasese district. His son, Moses Bintu Imbethe, says that they
have spent close to Shillings 200million to treat their father in the last
three years after developing health complications that condemned him to a
wheelchair.
He
says that they tried making contact with the
president to fulfil his promise to support the family in vain.
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Bintu says parliament led by the then speaker; Rebecca
Kadaga contributed Shillings 30million towards clearing the medical bills of
their father in Kampala. He, however, says that they have been
unable to go for another medical appointment due to a lack of money.
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He says that the family is also unhappy that the government has failed to recognize the former minister who is among the few
persons who contributed and witnessed Uganda’s independence from the Rwenzori
Region. Bintu explains that after independence his father was involved in
lobbying for Uganda to join international organizations.
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Bwambale’s wife, Caroline Kabadaki, told URN
reporter that they have run out of money to pay for her husband’s treatment and
provide special meals recommended by his doctors. She says that their attempts
to seek compensation for their land measuring 1square mile in Bunyangabu have
not yet yielded any results.
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Kabadaki wants the government to recognize the
efforts of her husband in building an ample environment for refugees and
extending health services to Kasese. Ezra Bukundika, an elder from
Kisinga Sub County, says that the former minister was the brain behind the construction
of Kagando Hospital in the 1960’s. He also remembers him for
introducing Cotton growing in the mountainous parts of Kasese.
“Imbethe is among the very few Ugandans who
witnessed and contributed towards Uganda’s independence, just doing that itself
is enough for any government to support him and his family until death,”
Bukundika notes. The State Minister for ICT and National Guidance,
Geoffrey Kabyanga, says that they are taking on the concern as leaders to
remind the president of his pledge to support the former minister and his
family.
About Bwambale
He began his work with the office of the district
commissioner as an interpreter in the Tooro Kingdom in the 1950’s before he was
appointed as in charge of transporting lepers for treatment to Wicha
Hospital in DR. Congo.
After independence, Bwambale won the Tooro
South MP seat (Current Kasese District) under the Democratic Party-DP before
switching to the then ruling Uganda People’ Congress-UPC government.
Subsequently,
Obote appointed Bwambale Deputy Minister of Culture and Community development
in charge of refugees. He was then to retire from active government service in the early 1980s.
