At 74, Capt Roy not about to retire in spite of health scare 

Last month in France, there were sustained demonstrations that sometimes actually escalated into riots when the French people were resisting a move by President Emmanuel Macron to increase the retirement age from 62 to 64 years.

In order to push through the unpopular move, Macron had to bypass parliament using constitutional clauses that allow the president to push through certain bills without parliamentary approval. Therefore, it follows normally that people who have worked hard during their prime age would love to enjoy their lives when, like in Uganda, they clock 60 years.

If they have been in the private sector, they get to get their money they have been saving with NSSF, and if they have been government employees, they start enjoying their pension. If they have been businesspeople, they cut down on their regular routines and leave the work to their children.

But this is not true for Capt Charles Roy Zziwa. Perhaps better known for his now-defunct airliner Das Air, Capt Roy Zziwa, at 74, says he is not about to give up work. He says it is his work that gives him a sense of purpose. If he were to leave work, he says, he would have started on the last lap of his life’s journey. For now, even when he has been battling with diseases that come with old age, such as hypertension and prostate cancer, these would not at all ground him.

In an interview at his sprawling home located in Makata village in Mukono district, Capt Roy says he is still engaged in as many things as ever.

“I’m not retired. I’m still active in many things. What do you want me to do in retirement? Retire and die? I’m still doing things, not really for the sake of the money, but I love to see things I plant grow up; it’s an achievement,” Roy said.

LOVE FOR BIG THINGS

On top of his Muyenga home, Capt Roy also has homes in Makata and Nakasongola near his Zziwa Rhino Sanctuary, which we will return to shortly. His Mukono home sits on a 400- acre piece of land, of which five acres are dedicated to the compound alone. In the interview, Roy said he requires 60 litres of fuel to slash the expansive compound. If he is not in Nakasongola, he spends all the weekends in Mukono.

“This place shouldn’t have been far if it weren’t for the bad roads and the terrible traffic jam on the Mukono road. On a good day, it takes me only one and a half hours to drive from Kampala, and on a very bad day, it can take me five hours. But I like living here; the air is fresh, there is no hooting, no pollution,” Roy says.

For the rest of the land, Roy uses 100 acres for coffee planting. He says coffee, if properly looked after, has the potential to lift people out of poverty.

“The Katikkiro has mobilised us to start growing coffee, and we have answered his call. When I finally retire, I want to retire with my coffee. I love looking at nature,” Roy says.

Also, in Mukono, Roy is engaged in goat and rabbit rearing. Although he intends to start selling rabbit meat, his motivation now is about the droppings and the urine. Apparently, rabbit urine is an insecticide and herbicide for all the diseases that afflict coffee.

BATTLE FOR CONTROL OF ZZIWA RHINO SANCTUARY

For the last few years, Roy has been engaged in a fierce battle with the Rhino Fund Uganda, the organisation that, until about a year ago, was running Zziwa Rhino Sanctuary in Nakasongola district. After long and winding court battles, Roy regained control of the sanctuary that sits on a 26-mile piece of land, and now his wife, Daisy Roy, is running it.

“We are now settled and have a very good working relationship with UWA [Uganda Wildlife Authority]. The lady [Angie Genade] with whom we were pulling ropes left, and we are now settled,” Roy said.

Currently, Zziwa Rhino Sanctuary has 38 rhinos after starting with only six, four of which came from Kenya and two from the United States of America.

ROY AS A FAMILY MAN

Roy is married to Daisy Roy, and together they have three children: two boys, Joy Roy and Jeff Roy, and a girl, Wendy Roy. Not surprisingly, all three are into the aviation industry. Joy and Jeff work for British Airways in London, while Wendy is married to a pilot who works with Qatar Airways.

“Children normally look up to their parents. Many would always want to do the job that their parents are engaged in. So, I’m not surprised that all my children are inclined towards aviation. I should tell you, that job is good,” Roy says.

HEALTH CHALLENGES

Capt Roy has lived a largely blissful life for most of his 74 years. His major health challenge, however, came in 2022, when he realised that he was urinating more than was normal. He decided to check it out first at Mengo hospital and then at International Hospital Kampala (IHK).

At IHK, a biopsy was done on the prostate, and samples were sent to the United States of America. Results returned about two months later, indicating that his prostate-specific antigen [PSA] had increased from the normal 4 ng/mL to 12 ng/mL.

“My doctor said it was not very bad but advised that I be put on chemotherapy to kill any possible cancers. I refused because I had been told about the terrible impact of chemotherapy. I asked the doctor whether I could use herbal medicine, and he frowned at me. But I was very lucky that I knew David Ssenfuka; he grew up near my home. I met him, and we discussed my health issues. He requested that I do tests to confirm before enrolling me on the medicine. We did the tests at LMK laboratories, which indeed confirmed that my PSA was 12 ng/mL,” Roy says.

Following the instructions on the use of the medicine, in one month Roy had succeeded in reducing his PSA from 12 to 6 ng/mL and then, currently, to 0.4 ng/mL.

“I went back to IHK to check my PSA, which was 0.4 ng/mL. The doctor asked me what miracle I had used. I can attest that this medicine works, and I know many other senior people who have used it. I’m wondering why the government has not approved this medicine so that our people can also be helped.”

Roy also hit out at conventional doctors who refuse to allow their patients to explore other options in their battles with dangerous diseases such as diabetes and cancer.

“I have a friend in Congo who has leukaemia. I asked him to come to Kampala at least for three months and get this treatment, but his wife, who is a doctor, refused him because she doesn’t believe in herbal medicine. If these people accepted that this medicine works because even the medicine they use comes from these very plants, we would not be suffering as we do. So, I would like the government to give my son a chance to demonstrate that this medicine actually works,” Roy said.

In the past, this newspaper has carried several stories of people who say they have used Ssenfuka’s medicine and have been healed of diabetes and cancer. The government, through the ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, had promised to assist Ssenfuka in carrying out human trials on the medicine, but that help has yet to come.

Animal trials that have been made on the medicine by the Natural Chemotherapeutics Research Institute have proved that the medicine has compounds that are effective in the treatment of both diseases.

About Capt Roy

Capt Roy was born in Mutungo, Kampala, in 1949. He went to Nami- lyango Junior School, Savio Junior School Kisubi, then Namilyango College School. He went to the United States, where he trained as a pilot.

He worked for East African Airways for nine years before joining Nigeria Airways, which he quit to start his own air cargo company known as Das Air.

Before it wound up operations, Das Air had offices in China, Hong Kong, New York, Spain, London, and the United Arab Emirates, among others.

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