KAMPALA – Kyadondo East MP Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine has said Med Kaggwa, the deceased chairperson of the Uganda Human Rights Commission, tried to promote rights under very difficult circumstances.
Kaggwa was rushed to Case hospital on Wednesday morning after being found unconscious in his vehicle and was later pronounced dead.
In a message posted on his social media pages, Bobi Wine said when he was tortured and subsequently detained by the military during the violence in the Arua Municipality parliamentary by-election, Kaggwa was instrumental in ensuring that he gets justice.
“Very saddened by the passing of Hon. Med Kaggwa, Chairperson of the Uganda Human Rights Commission. During the Arua ordeal, Med did his best to ensure that my family and some of my lawyers accessed me at Makindye Military prison,” he said.
“Despite working under a military dictatorship, Med always tried to promote rights under very difficult circumstances. The call for us is to work even harder every day to make the world a better place for all, knowing that we are but sojourners on this earth. May his soul rest in peace,” he added.
The Forum for Democratic Change party, in a message said Kaggwa will be missed for his dedication to fighting for human rights and dignity.
The Uganda Media Centre sent condolences to the deceased’s family.
“It’s with deep sorrow that we’ve learnt of the death of Mr Maddie Kaggwa, Chairperson of @UHRC_UGANDA. Our condolences go to his family and friends in this trying moment. May his soul Rest in Peace,” they wrote.
Mr Tabu Butagirwa, an editor at Daily Monitor, said: “Med Kaggwa had humour and could be a straight talker. I don’t know what problem he’d with his relatives or whether he was being predictive and precautionary. When Joseph Etima, a former Commissioner General of Uganda Prisons Service, died at Nakasero Hospital, Kaggwa was the first highest-ranking government official to reach the medical facility. Etima was a Commissioner of UHRC that Kaggwa chaired.”
He added: “In our conversation at the hospital, Med Kaggwa said he had his will ready in which he had instructed his wife to promptly lock their house in Kawempe, north of the city centre, in the event he died. Kaggwa said he didn’t want his relatives to assemble at his Kampala home and tamper with his property and that his body would have to be taken straight to the village where he’d have to be buried.”
Rose Mutumba wrote: “We have woken up to the sad news of the death of our uncle Hon Medi Kagwa. Our hearts are bleeding, the pain is imaginable. You have fought a good fight uncle, you have stood for the human rights of Children and people in Uganda. We shall miss you!!!! RIP.”
