Twists and turns in the life of Julius Mucunguzi 

Over the past few weeks, renowned former journalist and communications specialist JULIUS MUCUNGUZI has chronicled his career on social media with a series of candid, captivating stories and photos carved out of his life experiences.

From selling fish and later growing sweet potatoes to collect school fees, Mucunguzi has had an incredible journey from primitive village life in Kabale to mingling with the globe’s high and mighty, writes Samuel Muhindo.

Until recently, Mucunguzi served as the advisor and head of communications at the Office of the Prime Minister in Uganda. He is currently the under-secretary general for public relations and engagement at the Organization of Educational Cooperation (OEC), an organization that advocates for the adoption of balanced and inclusive education in the global south.

On a personal note, he is also a successful mixed farmer. It was in January, 1989 that Mucunguzi left Kabale for Jinja with his uncle Jackson Agaba aboard a People’s bus. He was very anxious and excited to know about the better future that his relocation to Jinja promised.

“Although we arrived at my uncle’s residence in Masese at 10 pm, I was shocked by the type of house he was living in. It was a shack. It had no electricity, yet the famous Owen Falls dam was nearby. I contemplated returning to Kabale but I had no money to even foot my transport. The next day, uncle Agaba took me around the Walukuba estate, where he previously resided before the company was privatized. The contrast was evident. My uncle had left decent accommodation and now resided in a shack because of a mere stroke of a pen,” he recalls.

Once an envied factory worker with his life all set out, Agaba lost everything when the government introduced the structural adjustment programs that made him jobless. He was now a cobbler. On a personal note, Mucunguzi had scored aggregate 12 at P7, and it took one of Agaba’s clients, Florence Mutyabule, to have him admitted into Jinja SS for senior one.

“She was a teacher at Jinja SS and had brought her shoes for repairing when my uncle informed her about my predicament. “She immediately led me to the head teacher, who offered me admission,” recalls Mucunguzi.

Due to the large student numbers at Jinja SS, Mucunguzi was part of the first shift of learners that studied half-day in the morning. Aware of his plight, Mucunguzi decided to use the other half of the day to do odd jobs to contribute towards his school fees. In the process, he met Mama Jaasi, a fishmonger who operated a stall of deep-fried fish in our neighbourhood.

“She offered me an opening to fetch her water at Shs 50 a day. In my second term, Mama Jaasi advised me to start selling fish instead of working for her. Mama Jaasi felt I would get more money from selling fish. She taught me how to prepare fish. She gave me 12 pieces of tilapia fish, a frying pan, a pail, and two litres of cooking oil as non-refundable start-up capital. On my first attempt at selling my fish at the landing site, I sold off all my stock in under two hours. I returned to Mama Jaasi and requested more fish. I also sold off all the fish. I knew I had taken off. Mama Jaasi continued to supply me with fish, and I became known at Masese as the Mukiga young man that sold fish at Masese,” he says.

On the flip side, as Mucunguzi got more money from selling fish, his performance in class suffered. After Senior Two, he returned to Kabale to visit his parents and also join the family for the Christmas holidays.

“When I returned home, my father overheard my conversation. He was afraid that the money I had started getting at such a young age would affect my education. He dictated that I should not return to Jinja but instead join a school around Kabale. My pleas to return to Masese fell on deaf ears,” he says.

That is how Mucunguzi ended up joining Kigezi High School. However, it became evident that his father couldn’t pay the fees. Mucunguzi studied for two terms on probation and was barred from going back. Cornered, he opted to look for a scholarship. He learned of Hector Sutherland, a Scottish missionary who was offering education bursaries to children from humble backgrounds in the Kigezi region. Sutherland offered Mucunguzi a scholarship at Lake Bunyonyi SS.

The school would later become a hub of opportunities for Musunguzi. The school had a huge chunk of land. I requested the estates manager’s permission to grow some crops on idle land so that I could get pocket money. I planted sweet potatoes, and when they were almost ready, a trader, Geoffrey Byarugaba, offered to buy the plantation,” he says.

Mucunguzi later rejoined Kigezi High School for A-level and scored 21 points. In October 1996, he was admitted to Makerere University to pursue a degree in Mass Communication. While at Makerere, some of his lecturers Peter Mwesige and David Ouma Balikowa encouraged him to get articles published in the newspapers.

In no time, he became a seasoned contributor to the Kigezi Anglican Youth Missioners. In 1998, Mucunguzi was recruited as a correspondent for The Monitor [now Daily Monitor].

USA DREAM!

While in his third year as a student of Mass Communication at Makerere University, Byarugaba seconded him for an internship opportunity in the USA. In March 2000, he received a year-long internship placement in Washington DC.” In 2002, he left Monitor to pursue a Master’s Degree in Media and Communication at the University of Oslo.

“Towards the end of my stay in Norway, I signed my contract with New Vision as a senior reporter three months in advance. After three months at the newspaper, I joined World Vision Uganda as a senior communications specialist. Approximately three years later, I joined the Commonwealth Secretariat in London as a communications specialist. I was later promoted to communication advisor until 2014, when I returned to Uganda,” he added.

OPM

Mucunguzi recalls that when Ruhakana Rugunda was appointed prime minister in 2014, he called him to congratulate him on the appointment.

“During the conversation, he requested that I return to Uganda and support him in his new assignment. At the time, the office was engulfed in scandals and needed a rebuild. I declined his invitation and instead advised him to express the need for the service through due process. When the job was advertised, I applied for the position like the others. I was eventually recruited for the position,” said Mucunguzi.

Although Rugunda eventually left the OPM, Mucunguzi was retained in the office to serve under Robinah Nabbanja.

MUCUNGUZI FAMILY LIFE

Mucunguzi was born on March 3, 1975, in Kilembe, Kasese to Turyagyenda Masanyu and Lydia Tumushabe Masanyu. At the time, Mucunguzi’s father was a labourer in the copper mines in Kilembe.

Due to the economic sanctions imposed on the Amin government, the copper mines in Kilembe could no longer get spare parts for the equipment. Because of a pending economic collapse, Mucunguzi’s father relocated with the entire family to Lugazi sugar works in 1978. Here, the father worked as a sugar machine operator. Frustrated by the events in Lugazi, the Masanyu moved the entire family back to Kabale.

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