Museveni orders govt to accord DP’s Ssemogerere state funeral

President Yoweri Museveni has directed that the former Democratic Party (DP) president general Dr Paul Kawanga Ssemogerere be accorded an official funeral. 

This was announced on Saturday by the minister in charge of the presidency, Milly Babalanda. According to Babalanda, she is scheduled to hold a meeting with the family to discuss and synchronize the burial arrangements. She declined to divulge further details regarding the presidential directive.

Ssemogerere died on Friday at his home in Rubaga. According to family members, Ssemogerere had been unwell the past few days but not in a worrying state as per the assessment of his doctor who checked on him Thursday.

Ssemogerere served as president general of DP for 25 years after succeeding Benedicto Kiwanuka. He was also a two-time presidential candidate, first in 1980 against President Milton Obote and in 1996 against the incumbent President Yoweri Museveni.

At the time of his death, Ssemogerere had quit active politics but continued to contribute to the politics and leadership development in the country. In December 2020 at Africana Hotel, he spearheaded the formation of a coalition of opposition political parties and pressure groups ahead of the 2021 election and beyond, committing their parties to basic principles of “a new political order”. 

Participants were; DP, National Unity Platform-NUP, Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) and Justice Forum (JEEMA), Henry Tumukunde’s Renewed Uganda, Kiiza Besigye’s People’s Government pressure group and Peter Walubiri of the opposition-minded Uganda People’s Congress (UPC).