Presidential advisor John Nagenda dies at Medipal hospital  

Senior presidential advisor on media affairs John Nagenda, 85, is dead. 

The minister for Presidency Milly Babalanda made the announcement through her Twitter account today Saturday.

“I regret to announce the passing on of senior presidential advisor on media matters, Mzee John Nagenda, who has passed on at Medipal in Kampala. He was unique, principled and knowledgeable. His services will be dearly missed,” announced Babalanda.

Nagenda was a cricket player and a witty writer who has been a long-standing columnist in the New Vision newspaper. During the bush war of 1981-86, he was in exile in the United Kingdom and was a collaborator of the National Resistance Movement/Army led by Yoweri Museveni.

It was Nagenda who mooted the idea of taking then prince Ronald Muwenda Mutebi to the war front in Luwero, to cement the Buganda support for the NRA struggle.

In a daring mission, Mutebi who flew with Nagenda from London, through Nairobi to Kigali, was driven to the Uganda-Rwanda border, where he travelled by road to Kabale. In Kabale, rebel commander Museveni personally received them and took them to Luwero where Mutebi spent two weeks, meeting the fighters and ordinary people.

Naggenda was born in April 1938 in Rwanda where his parents were working as missionaries.