President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Friday directed that fallen senior civil servant, Hon. Henry Kyemba be accorded an official burial.
This was revealed by the Minister for Presidency, Hon. Babirye Milly Babalanda.
“H.E. the President has granted an official burial to fallen former PPS, Minister, MP, elder, and opinion leader, Hon. Henry Kisadha Kyemba, who passed on yesterday morning. The full burial program will be issued shortly. Sympathies to the Kyemba family and all Ugandans,” Hon.Babalanda said in a statement posted on X.
Henry Kyemba, a long serving civil servant and former Minister of Health during Idi Amin’s government, succumbed to diabetes-related complications on Thursday 19th October,2023.
Kyemba joined the Uganda civil service on the eve of Uganda’s independence from Britain in 1962. He was the Principal Private Secretary to then Prime Minister of Uganda, Milton Obote.
Following the 1971 Ugandan coup d’etat, he joined Amin’s cabinet, rising through the ranks to become the Minister of Health (1974–1977) during Amin’s regime.
Kyemba defected to London in 1977, where he wrote a book on Amin’s regime titled: “A State of Blood.”
He returned to Uganda in 1986, and he served as Secretary of Judicial Service Commission. He is also the author of State of Blood, a 1977 book he wrote after his flight from Uganda that describes Amin’s tyrannical rule.
He studied from Busoga College Mwiri for his Cambridge School Certificate (1951–1956). He was at Makerere University between 1957 and 1962 and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) in History.
Kyemba held a master’s degree in history from Northwestern University, Evanston, US and a Certificate in African studies from the same university. He also held an Honours degree in history from the London University.
