Govt Offers State Funeral to Fallen Former Kagadi Legislator

The President of Uganda, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, has offered a state funeral to former Greater Buyaga Constituency Member of Parliament Ignatius Besisira, who passed away earlier this week at Platinum Hospital in Kampala due to heart complications and kidney failure after five months of hospitalisation.

Besisira, a former teacher, Kibaale District Councilor, District Speaker, and Member of Parliament, was serving as a commissioner on the Local Government Finance Commission at the time of his death.

On Monday, the family of the former legislator announced his passing at Platinum Hospital, where he had been hospitalized for five months following surgery in India.

Gerald Businge, one of Besisira’s sons, said his father returned from India six months ago but developed complications, prompting the family to admit him to Platinum Hospital.

“During Christmas, he looked like he was recovering and had started walking on his own, but later he became worse until the Lord called him on Sunday evening,” Businge said.

Following his death, President Museveni directed that Besisira be accorded a state funeral. This message was delivered by family members led by Stephen Twesige Rurekere and Gerald Businge.

“Dear Friends and Relatives, as you are aware, the President’s Office announced on Monday that the government has granted our late father Hon. Ignatius Besisira an official burial as a tribute to his dedicated service. The family has received and considered a request by the President’s Office to postpone the burial from the earlier planned date of Wednesday to Friday, 17th January 2025, to allow the different offices to prepare for a befitting official send-off,” read part of the message shared on social media Tuesday evening.

Today, Thursday, Kagadi District Council will pay their last respects at the council chambers in Kagadi at 11 AM. This will be followed by a mass at St. Mary’s Kagadi at 2 PM before proceeding to his village church, St. Charles Lwanga Catholic Church in Gayaza, Pacwa Town Council.

His body will then be taken to his home in Kamata Village, Pacwa Town Council, for a vigil, ahead of his final send-off on Friday.

Who Was Ignatius Besisira?

Ignatius Besisira was born in 1956 in Pacwa, then part of Hoima District (now Kagadi District), to the late Mr. John Rurekere and Mrs. Agnes Kobucunda. He attended Pacwa Primary School until Primary Four and later Kabwoya Primary School, where he completed Primary Seven.

He joined Bishop Secondary School in Mukono for Senior Four before enrolling at the Kenya Civil Aviation Institute, where he obtained a certificate in aviation.

He briefly worked at Entebbe Airport but later pursued a teaching career, graduating as a Grade Three teacher from Masindi Teachers Training Institute. He further upgraded his qualifications at Kyambogo University, earning a diploma and eventually a degree.

Besisira taught at several schools and served as headteacher at institutions such as Pacwa, Mugalike, Mabaale, and Kahunde.

In the late 1980s, he left teaching for local politics, serving as a District Councilor for Kiryanga Sub-county. He was later elected Speaker of Greater Kibaale District and chaired the education committee.

In 1996, Besisira transitioned to national politics, representing Buyaga Constituency as a Member of Parliament until 2006 when he lost to the current Buyaga West MP, Barnabas Tinkasimire, in a closely contested election characterised by tribal tensions between the Banyoro natives and immigrant communities (Bafuruki).

At the time of his death, Besisira was serving as a commissioner on the Local Government Finance Commission.