By Mukembo Wilfred
The Uganda Journalists Association (UJA) executive committee team has paid a courtesy visit to the founding father Rt. Hon. mzee Kintu Musoke at his country home in Kalungu Baakijjulura, Masaka sub region.
The visiting team was represented by the president Mathias Rukundo, secretary general Emmanuel Kirunda and secretary for external relations Issa Kigongo.
This visit aimed at paying respect to him for his great contribution towards establishment of UJA whose service has shaped the landscape of press freedom in Uganda.
Interacting with the visiting team, mzee Musoke disclosed that his grave should contain written text affirming that he is a founding father of UJA as he has gone to be with the Lord. His rationale for this is that UJA is so dear to him.
Rt. Hon. Musoke recounted that an idea that resulted into formation of UJA was conceived when he had gone to attend an African Union of Journalists Conference in Ghana’s capital Accra, on invitation of the host late president Kwame Nkrumah.
He told the visiting UJA delegation that they had been invited as individuals with his colleague Charles Binaisa. Mzee Musoke stated that he got embarrassed with his colleague Binaisa to attend the Conference as individuals, since journalists from other countries had attended under their umbrella bodies, thus, they decided to register on Conference papers as members of Uganda Journalists Association (UJA) which was non-existent.
Mzee Musoke confirmed that the association was regularized when they returned back and he was elected UJA president at the first general assembly at Uganda Club in Kampala. He was a journalist with African Pilot, while Binaisa with Uganda Argus.
The former Uganda Prime Minister encouraged UJA leaders to be nationalistic in performance of their governance role since it is the only way the country and association can remain strong.
Eventually, he took UJA leaders on a tour of his more than 60-acre land farm before he could encourage them to equally embrace modern farming business as it will help them as an alternative source of income.
UJA president Mathias Rukundo saluted Mzee Musoke for his immense contribution to the development of the media sector and the country as a whole.
UJA secretary general Emmanuel Kirunda praised mzee Musoke for being a visionary and nationalistic leader.
