On the afternoon of Saturday 26/04/2025, the world said farewell to Pope Francis. He left for heaven earlier in the week on Easter Monday, 21/05/2025.
In the evening of April 18, 2015, I arrived in Perugia, Italy. With hindsight, this trip was the work of fate, the hand of God for those who believe. At that time I was the MD/CEO of
Vision Group.
One afternoon in the first week of April, I came back from lunch to find an email from Amadou Mahtar Ba, founder of the Africa Media Initiative and AllAfrica News com. I had gotten to know him well from the media conference circuit. He asked me to take his place on a panel to discuss the then popular narrative of Africa Rising. I accepted. That is how the next day after my arrival I joined Fatou Bensouda(ICC Prosecutor at that time) for this discussion.
The day after, our host arranged for us to go on a tour of Assisi, the home of St. Francis. It is also name that Jorge Bergoglio had chosen for his papal identity two years earlier. We went to where St. Francis of Assisi is buried and attended mass at his chapel in the town square. At the back of the chapel is the rose garden where St. Francis would go to pray alone.
Shortly after my return to Kampala, Hon. Margaret Zziwa snf Sengonzi came to see me with a request from Archbishop Cyprian Lwanga Kizito of Kampala. They asked me to lead a public fundraiser for the visit of Pope Francis to Uganda. I had recently led the second edition of the Kabaka’s Birthday which turned out to be a great success in raising money for the cause of those suffering from fistula.
I agreed to take on the task & together with my work colleagues we poured our energies into the project. It was as if we were possessed! On one Sunday I attended 7 masses to drum up support for our effort. We organized a walk from Kampala to Namugongo Martyrs Shrine that was led by Katikiro of Buganda Owek CP Mayiga, and then ED of KCCA Jennifer Musisi which raised UGX 185m.
We had feared that the walk would be rained out. What happened was nothing short of a miracle. When we arrived at the Shrine, the skies opened and a storm was raging all around us except the venue where Emmanuel Cardinal Wamala was saying mass.
As we left for lunch I felt someone tag at my shirt. I turned & there was a small bodied nun who asked if I was Kabushenga. When I said yes, she opened the palm of her hand & gave me a fifty thousand shillings note. She told me she had come all the way from Kamuli in Busoga to take part in the walk. This money was the contribution from her and 4 other nuns who couldn’t make the trip.
The sale of rosaries was even more successful. In total we managed to raise UGX1.3bn.
One rainy November evening, I was summoned to meet the Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Ruhakana Rugunda and Archbishop Cyprian. They wanted to know how much money we had collected so far.
The contractor had abandoned the construction site for the Munyonyo Basilica due to nonpayment. I was then told to transfer the money & coordinate with Fr. Male(a Polish Priest) at Munyonyo and ensure that the contractor got back on site.
This is how Pope Francis was able to say his first mass in Uganda as the Holy Father at a venue dear to his ministry. He brought with him a stone from the tomb of St. Francis in Assisi that is now part of the Basilica. For my work, I was given a personal gift in frame one by the Pope. On the day he left Uganda, I got a personal blessing that could only have been through his prayer.
I got to see him at a reception hosted in his honor as Vatican Head of State at State House, Entebbe. It is also the only time I ever met a woman called Enrica Pinetti. I doubt she remembers our brief chat about Uganda’s Coffee. Pope Francis, pray for us.
