“I am not in prison because of my enemies but God planned it,” Teddy Seezi Cheeye told his sister in law, Alison Kantarama, the Assistant Commissioner Support service at Mulago hospital, when she visited him in Luzira prison in 2010.
When he came out of the prison last year, Cheeye did more of preaching the word of God, than pursuing his journalism career.
When the family received the sad news of his death at their residential home at Najjera in Wakiso District on Thursday afternoon, they were shocked, but better still pleased that mzee, as his wife Annet and two daughters used to call him, had accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and saviour.
As he crossed Jinja Road at Nakawa, near Shell Petrol Station, Cheeye was knocked by a boda boda that immediately sped off.
“Good Samaritans tried to rush him to the hospital but he died within 10 minutes,” Kantarama told PML Daily at the deceased’s residence.
Cheeye, according to family, was rushing to attend different meetings.
Crossed many
In the 1990s, Cheeye was running The Confidential newsletter where he used his pen to expose corruption among government officials.
This created many enemies, one among whom was outspoken former Ethics minister Miria Matembe, whose family was not spared when Cheeye wrote about her husband.
Matembe sued and won the case. While appearing on NBS political show last October, Cheeye admitted that on more than one occasion during his investigations, sources used him to fight their battles.
“I admit my mistakes and whoever I wronged, during my journalism career, please forgive me,” Cheeye said then.
Little Known
To our surprise, when we visited the residence in Najjera, the former head of economic monitoring at ISO is little known to his neighbours.
It took our reporter one and half hours to find the residence. Some residents a few meters away from his house were not aware that someone in the area had died.
“Who is Cheeye? I don’t know him. May be you ask those running the shops,” a young lady said when asked.
At the nearby shops, two men having an early morning drink helped our reporter to spot the house.
“I know that old man. He has been jogging here every evening but rarely interacted with us. Let me take you to his house,” one of the men, Kaddu said.
At the gate of a posh residential house, with a black gate, stood two women, who later introduced themselves to the reporter as the deceased’s sisters-in-law.
Laura and Loran Cheeye came to greet mourners, followed by their mother a little while later.
David Pulkol arrived
Among the mourners present while PML Daily was at the home was former External Security Organisation director David Pulkol, who comforted the girls and their mother.
Priests demand for investigations
A priest, whose name we did not get wondered whether there was no invisible hand in killing President Yoweri Museveni’s former top spy.
“We need thorough investigations,” one of the priests said.
However, Frank Mwesigwa, the Kampala Metropolitan Police commander refuted this allegation. “We have embarked on hunting the boda boda cyclist who knocked Cheeye dead. We have involved cyclists operating at Nakawa stage to help us get him,” Mwesigwa added.
Burial programme
Cheeye’s body will be taken to Mbuya Church for Requiem Mass on Saturday at 10 am. His body will be laid to rest on Sunday at 2pm in Luweero District.
