KAMPALA —The Speaker of Parliament, Jacob Oulanyah, has mourned Central Bank Governor, Prof. Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile as one who helped steer Uganda’s economic recovery after collapse in the 1970s and 80s amid political upheaval during the rule of presidents Idi Amin and Milton Obote.
“Saddened by the demise of Prof. Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile.
We salute him for meritorious service as Governor of the Bank of Uganda and superintending economic recovery and stability,” Speaker Oulanyah, tweeted on Sunday afternoon.
Oulanyah also commiserated with Prof Mutebile’s family, banking fraternity and the nation at large.
The Central Bank, in a tweet, said Tumusiime-Mutebile died in Nairobi, Kenya. It did not disclose a cause of death.
He had been in and out of hospital in recent years.
Tumusiime-Mutebile, who was 72, was the country’s longest-serving central bank governor.
Before becoming governor in 2001, he also worked as head of the treasury at the finance ministry.
He won plaudits for many economic accomplishments.
Notably, he helped steer Uganda’s economic recovery in the 2000s after collapse in the 1970s and 80s amid political upheaval during the rule of presidents Idi Amin and Milton Obote.
Analysts also praised him for playing a crucial role in sweeping reform imposed by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the 1990s and 2000s that opened Uganda’s economy to private investment and accelerated gross domestic product growth to around 7%.
Tumusiime-Mutebile’s profile on the central bank website showed he also worked as a consultant for international organisations including the World Bank, IMF and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
