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darlingshanix · 5 years ago

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In today’s profile, I bring you a professional teacher who is languishing in poverty. After starting and heading what was the first private primary and lower primary school in Uganda and completing 60 years of teaching, losing the parliamentary seat for Buwekula County in 2011, Edward Lwanga Kasole Bwerere, looks like he is not enjoying his retirement. I paid him a visit at his residence in Kibalinga, Mubende district, the 85-years old renowned and accomplished teacher was laying on bed after battling with illness for years.

When he was told that am a journalist and wanted to talk to him about his life as a youth he accepted me to meet him on condition that I write exactly what he has said. Talking about how he got the ambition to start a privet school that gave birth too many private schools, Kampala Parents School, which later became school for children of affluent and influential parents.

Born Kasole Lwanga Bwerere in April 18, 1935 in Kibalinga Village Kibalinga Parish, Begezza Sub County, Mubende District in a family of two living siblings as Kasole being the only son to the late Joseph Bwerere Lwanga and late Namiro but his mum had another son before he got married to the late Joseph Bwerere Lwanga.

Kasole started his studies at Kitonzi (NAC) primary school in 1947 at the age of 11 in 1949 when he had reached in primary three, the younger Kasole walked 12 kilometers on daily basis to get education.

The school had limited classes which made Kasole to change to another school which helped him progress with studies. In 1950 he joined Kasenyi Primary school (NAC) 22 kilometers away from home but after walking for some days he got a good Samaritan teacher who gave him relief at his residence where he stayed and would go back home during holidays.

1961 after completing the primary education he joined Kikoma junior school 8 kilometers away from home. The resilient Kasole had hope that God would see him through, here he was adopted by the late teacher Yoramu Mbalirwa and Catalina Mbalirwa who later shifted to Kibalinga. The mukadde who is in her 90s is his closest neighbor, later his teacher was transferred. He requested to continue occupying the house however much it was decrepit the late Tito Walusimbi who was the head of the school allowed him to stay but the house fell down after a while.

The late Walusimbi gave him permission to erect another grass thatched house by ordering all the school students to uproot grass that he used to roof, he had to divide his time of class and building a three roomed house that accommodated his other friends who came from Mubende. This took him from junior one to junior three. These where the school levels between primary and secondary schools that he completed in 1955.

January 1956 he sat for three interviews in different disciplines, that’s teaching, inspector of police in Nsambya and Medical assistant in Masaka but unfortunately the teaching results came out first and immediately he enrolled in teaching. The other results came out after one week when he had passed them but since he had no money he decided to continue with his teaching studies at Namutamba Primary Teachers College and graduated as grade three teacher. Being the best student together with Mr. Christopher Ssempa of Nkumba University and the late Kizza in 1959 they were given first time opportunity to teach at Namutamba Primary Demonstration School as student teachers since they were the best 3 students in that year and immediately got married to his first wife who was a midwife at Mengo hospital and had four kids with her.

In 1964 Kasole sat for up grading qualifying test which was mandatory for any teacher who wanted to upgrade his education and only 50 passed. Kasole Joined Gaba Primary Teachers College in 1965 for further training. After completing his course he was offered an opportunity to teach at Lubaga Girls primary school in p7 and p8. He later went to Mengo girls’ primary in 1968 as the deputy to Mrs. Wambunzi and he changed the name from Mengo girls to Mengo primary school since there were no boys’ school around.

1971 Kasole applied for common wealth scholarships for school administration in grade three and grade four which had a pay of 750 shilling after completion which he passed but before he left for the common wealth studies he had done interview for Deputy Office superintendent at Makerere University.

Kasole narrates how he became confused when the two things came at once but he made a strong decision to stay at Makerere which annoyed the ministry and his passport was destroyed. He decide to stay at Makerere because of the pay of 1250 shillings per month much more than the common wealth pay plus car loan, furnished house which was a good deal for him. Immediately after starting work at Makerere his kids had grown and needed to start schooling but had no way to take them he decided to come back and start up a school.

Kasole resigned from Makerere but they never allowed him to leave because the situation was not appealing but he insisted and was given an option to start up the school as he still worked for the university but he refused not until they decided to accept and he was given his retirement package of 200,000 shillings.

October 1974 during his leave he rented a building at fairway hotel from Mr. Kironde and started advertising the school which saw him registering 179 pupils as the first intake for Kampala parents school with his nine teacher those he studied with at Namutamba.

January 18 1975 the school officially started and amidst the hard start in February during break time a group of army men invaded the school and told him as he was under arrest, he was put in a black vehicle driven to police remanded in prison for a week when President Idi Amin questioned how a Ugandan could start a first private primary school. Later he got bail on with two charges including Starting up a private school in Uganda and starting up a school in a residential area.

1979 there was a military cope that left many of his properties destructed so much. He had to do so many renovations and he had to shift the school from Kololo to the place where the army helped him to secure along Namirembe road. He went to the custodian board and researched on the plot that he occupied and found out there were two separate plots which had no occupants. 1980 during elections which saw Obote in power and in 1981 Kasole received a phone call from state house by then in Kololo which summoned him to meet President Milton Obote.

Kasole on arrival for his first meeting at State House as nerve racking affair. He says he was picked in a Mercedes Benz dispatched by State House and escorted by two vehicles with heavily armed guards. He says he thought it was his last day on earth but he had nowhere to run to. As a muganda man Luganda proverbs were at his mouth tip more so a proverb that says ‘Bakuyita embuga si buganzi’ locally translated as ‘being summoned by people of authority is not necessarily a good thing’ “he kept asking himself what could have landed me in trouble,” he says.

At State House, he did not meet President Obote but his wife, the First Lady of that time Mrs. Miria Kalulu Obote. Possibly noticing how unnerved he was, she welcomed him warmly and promptly informed him that she wanted to enroll her last born, Benjamin Opeto from Kitanta Primary school to Kampala Parents School which he readily allowed. But, according to Kasole, teaching Opeto was not like eating chips and chicken. He says Opeto was not like any other pupil he had dealt with before. Opeto was escorted by heavily armed soldiers during his first days at the school and they watched over him like hawks. In case he needed a toilet, young Opeto was whisked off at breakneck speed to the president’s residence in Kololo.

For Kasole, as an experienced teacher, the way Opeto was treated and having soldiers at school was a challenge. But he could not walk away from it. He advised Miria to strip Opeto of all privileges of a First Son while at school. Opeto had to become like any other child at the school. To put the plan into action required convincing Opeto’s Daddy to allow him to have a life outside state house. This included getting a home where Opeto could live like any normal child of his age. Fortunately, the Obote liked the plan and were impressed when Opeto was totally transformed to the satisfaction of not only his teachers but parents as well.

Opeto flourished in his studies to the extent that even his parents were surprised by his improvements. While teachers today might be rewarded by a parent with a bottle of soda for their efforts, Kasole was rewarded with tax exemption on his schools to custodian board. While in power, President Milton Obote (II) had appointed him as a custodian of the land along Namirembe Road in appreciation for his contribution towards Uganda’s education. He told me that if time came to sell it off by its owners, he would be given priority to buy it. He constructed three flats on the land. Unfortunately, when government changed with the arrival of the NRM government, the laws changed and properties were returned to the Indians.

In 1985, Obote’s government was over thrown in a military coup led by Brig. Bazilio Olara Okello and Gen. Tito Okello became president. The Obotes fled into exile and forgot Opeto at Kampala parents and later was picked that’s when Kasole separated from Opeto who was in primary four. Opeto’s departure left Kasole with fond memories of a boy who grew to follow every school rules. He says the boy was scared of being removed from Kampala Parents School which he liked.

When Museveni took over, he sent four of his children including Lt. General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, (then in primary six and scored five aggregates in his PLE and went to Budo SS on merit), Natasha Karugire, Patience Kokundeka Rwabwogo and the youngest Diana Kamuntu in Nursery school all scored 4 aggregates and went to St Mary’s Namagoma on merit. He said that time round he had no fear of handling presidential children because there were no cars and summons to State House.

Having come from Sweden, Kasole said Museveni’s children more so Lt. General Muhoozi Kainerugaba had to be taught English. “When he came he didn’t know English. This really bothered the elder boy since he was in P.6. But the moment, they learnt the language, I didn’t have any academic problems with them,” Kasole recalls children carrying packed food but also enjoyed school meals. Kasole said the two presidents were involved in the learning of their children more than parents of these days who fill ashamed when one finds them looking after their children. “Some parents even never check their children’s homework yet they don’t have the huge responsibility of running an entire country,” Kasole said. He recalls that President Museveni was a hands-on parent who always took time off to check his children’s home work.

1986 the Indians came back and he had to shift from occupying the custodian buildings but he had visited the land board which had given him land on lease for 49 year at 100,000 shillings and this sabotaged his school forcing him to shift the school which had over 1850 pupils. “Preparing to relocate, he reached an agreement with his friend, Late Andrew Kasagga (Zzimwe of Zzimwe constructions) who had seven pupils in the school. He was to help him construct another school in Kololo. The construction of Kampala Parents School introduced Mr.Kasagga of Zzimwe construction, Makerere technology that made the architectural construction plan which was spearheaded by the current vice councilor of Makerere Prof Barnabas Nawangwa. He got a loan from Green land bank and East Africa Development Bank” to start off the program.

Kosole with dripping tears adds that, the money was still not enough, but this didn’t stop him from going ahead with the work. Mr. Kasagga agreed to construct the school and he was to pay him his balance later but with no interest on it as his seven children were to study free till completion, it was a good deal. We agreed he was to complete constructing the school in 12 month but it was completed after just 11 months. After making his assessment, He came to a conclusion that he was likely to lose 500 pupils out of 1850 because of the change in location of the school. He intended to use the cash flow from the remaining pupils to pay off the loans he had borrowed from Green land Bank and East African Development Bank but he was mistaken”

Immediately after relocating Kasole lost Twelve of his teachers that he was teaching with at Namirembe Road and a section of parents and teachers led by Nyombi Peter, a former (Attorney General) and the other is now a Bishop championed the breakaway of Kampala parents after being paid and grabbed his pupils he had at Namirembe road. “In fact, they just made a few changes to his former school, they replaced ‘Kampala’ with ‘City’ to make it City Parents Primary School from Kampala Parents Primary School”. To make it worse even the uniform was never changed till now apart from the slight changes on the school badge. For the Bishop, if he was to enter church when I am inside, he would get out. He is a treacherous man Kasole said. After being curtailed from moving students from Namirembe road to the new location in Kololo and this was his main reason, he failed to pay loans and opted to sell it.

In the process of trying to settle the loans, He decide to call a board of directors meeting that’s Mr. Ssempe, Kazibwe and Mujumba but these three he had been given shares as advisors so he had an upper hand in taking decision, his land title of his residence in Mengo together with Mr. Ssempa’s title as well were in the bank. We went out as a willing seller and immediately we got three buyers who were giving us some good money but in installment which he refused. Mr. Kasagga sourced and brought Mr. Sudhir (Ruparelia) who came out as a willing buyer. Among the four possible buyers, Sudhir gave us little money but had the best offer. He was to pay all the money at once unlike the other two who wanted to complete payment after years; possibly from the fees from his pupils. We sat down (myself and Sudhir) and agreed on terms, we made an agreement with him that the first payment he gives me is to recover the land title for the three of us and the school site. Then the balance was supposed to be given to Mr. Kasagga and the balance was to clear all our clients who were demanding us and I was issuing them letters and could pick payments from Mr. sudhir. He paid me cash down. So all those said that Sudhir grabbed my school I just don’t have any idea where they get that from Kasole said.

In an exclusive talk with me, Mr. Kasole narrated that he has never complained about the manner in which City tycoon, Sudhir took over the school. And dismisses the social media messages fake and untrue. He says he was surprised by such messages and warns that unless regulations are put in place for internet users, many are to suffer at the hands of mischievous people. I don’t demand anything from him. In fact he saved me because I had loans that I had failed to pay Kasole said.

After selling off Kampala parents and clearing off all the outstanding, he requested him to stay and continue as his employee, saying he was a businessman and had no knowledge about education. Kasole says he told Sudhir that if he was to stay behind, all the team he was working with was also to stay behind. It was actually in that year that he opened an account in Crane Bank were all employees were paid from. He delightedly signed one year contract and used to chair all the meetings and also used to train Sudhir. Upon completion of his contract, he quitted to concentrate on his constituency (Buwekula, Mubende). He left in good faith and actually some of the teachers he left there are still there while Mr. Ssempa has just left the school in the past two years.

In 1988, Hon. Kasole joined the 5th Parliament which was known as the National Resistance Council (NRC) representing Buwekula County and since that time, he was a member of parliament for the same county up to the 8th parliament in 2011.

After selling Kampala parents Kasole while in August house he looked for what venture he can do for his electorates this saw him starting Mubende parents in 1994 in his home district Mubende which he also sold to the rupalellier family later in 2015 because of bank loans that he obtained for treatment abroad and the family was not in position to settle the loan.

On return from treatment Kasole tried several means to earn a leaving but still failed not until in 2016 where the passion and love for the children was recovered back and started up Kasole Mubende parent’s school since he had rights to the name Started Kasole Mubende Parents School.

The schools Hon Kasole started have trained very many outstanding people in Uganda and outside, whose parents were looking for innovative education. Kasole’s name is a household name and brand in the education system in Uganda and among parents and alumni of these schools, plus those who have invested in private schools.

“I knew all my learners by name and I used to talk to them. When I noticed that your class work was not good, I visited your home and asked your parents to allow me to talk to you,” Kasole said. After rubbing shoulders with three of the most important men in the country, Kasole described his experience as a blessing from God. “I thank God for the chance he gave me, a nobody to be able to educate those children. I did nothing to deserve it but I am happy I had a hand in making them what they are today,” Kasole said.

Today, Kasole’s pupils are influential people in our nation like Benjamin Opeto who is a pastor while Lt. General Muhoozi Kainerugaba is the Special Presidential Advisor on special operations. Natasha Karugire is a fashion designer and a private secretary to President Museveni on Household Affairs. Patience Kokundeka Rwabwogo is a pastor at the Covenant Nations Church. Diana Kamuntu Film actress in the 27 Guns in which she acted as, Janet Kataha Museveni, her mother. The Omukama of Tooro King Rukirabasaija Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi Iv also started schooling at his school as well however much they went through his hands, Kasole says government has not been of help to him in terms of medication or help.

Time came in the past three years after teaching for over 60 years, I told my family am retiring from active teaching so I signed all the necessary documents of withdrawing my name as the director of the school, so my sons decided to change the school name to Kasole mubende primary as a way of keeping my legacy.

Kasole says after retiring from teaching and politics he has ventured in agriculture and I quote “if I had energy like I used to be, I would have taken you around nevertheless let my grand’s pick you some Matooke and maize to go with in Kampala since you young guy don’t want to be in villages”. However, When you come back when am better you will have any education tour on my farm. Above all take your children to good schools and government should equip schools with the requirements if we are to have good leaders of tomorrow. We have left the city for you young people now am here battling with my sickness with the little medication that my sons can afford till when we shall get better.

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FIRST PRIVET SCHOOL PROPRIETOR LANGUISHING IN POVERTY In today's profile, I bring you a professional teacher who is languishing in poverty. After starting and heading what was the first private primary and lower primary school in Uganda and completing 60 years of teaching, losing the parliamentary seat for Buwekula County in 2011, Edward Lwanga Kasole Bwerere, looks like he is not enjoying his retirement.

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