3 Years On – 18th July 2023
By Mukama Phillip Kahigiriza — mukphix@gmail.com
You could hear him before you saw him.
That laugh from Bumbaire Village, Igara, Bushenyi District — the home where he was born on 30th June 1944 to Sipirano Kaamuza and Maria Gakibayo. A home of 10 children, yellow bananas, and prayers on banana leaves.
He would sit you down and say,
“My children, I am from Bumbaire. We were poor, but we were rich in faith. My father never went to school, my grandfather was not baptized, but my mother prayed us into the Church.”
And then he’d grin:
“So if God could pick a boy from Bumbaire to wear this hat, He can pick anyone.”
Early Life and Education
After Ibaare Primary and Ibanda Preparatory (currently St. Mukasa Preparatory Seminary Mushanga), he joined St. Francis Xavier Kitabi Seminary in 1961.
It was there that resilience found him. During Senior Four national exams, all his classmates were expelled. He alone remained. So they took him to Maryhill High School to sit his O-Levels. To this day he holds the record as the only Kitabi old boy to sit O-Levels at Maryhill.
He loved to joke about it:
“Kitabi made me, Maryhill tested me, and God kept me.”
Kitabi formed giants around him — Bishop John Baptist Kakubi, Archbishop Lambert Bainomugisha, Bishop Callist Rubaramira, Bishop Egidio Nkeijanabyo, Bishop Edward Baharagate, Bishop Dr. Deogracious Byabazaire, Bishop Barnabas Halem’Imana, and Bishop Serapio Magambo.
Years later he returned not with a school bag, but as Rector of Kitabi Minor Seminary from 1973 to 1974, forming the boys he once laughed with in the dorm.
“I DIDN’T PLAN TO BE BISHOP”
Ordained priest on 11th July 1971. Appointed Archbishop of Mbarara in 1999. He served for 32 years.
But if you asked him in private, he would wave his hand and laugh:
“Me? A bishop? That was never close to my hopes. I even studied Protestant courses — Sacred Scriptures. And I did my further ecclesiastical studies in a Protestant country, Scotland. I thought I would just teach and disappear.”
Yet God had other plans. And Mbarara got a shepherd who preached with depth and cracked jokes with delight.
To restless people after Mass:
“My children, even God rests on the 7th day… so why are you gossiping instead of going home to rest?”
To confirmands:
“If the Holy Spirit doesn’t change you today, I will come back and check your homework.”
And he did.
In Runyankole he would shake his head:
“Eshi abaana ba St Mukasa nimunyesimisa.”
Against corruption he thundered:
“Abarezi erigyenda batandikire kunywa amate gabaana, hatyo babagaburira amaizi.”
And to those who knew football more than faith:
“Nikigashaki kushanga omusigazi ninga empangare erikumanya squad ya Arsenal ninga Manchester United, konka atarikumanya za diocese eziri omwitare rwaitu?”
He called himself “the driver of souls” and said,
“In Mbarara, I don’t need a GPS, the people are my map.”
THE HEART OF BUMBAIRE
That generosity started early. As a young priest at Kitabi, the Bwanda nuns would give him yellow bananas after work at Rurengye plantation. He never forgot.
One day at the Cathedral, a woman came crying over school fees. A Christian handed the Bishop an envelope. He didn’t open it. He just gave it to her. Inside was 2 million Ugandan Shillings — more than her need.
“God sent it through you to her,” he would later say, smiling.
Under his leadership, parishes, schools, and institutions grew. But his real project was people. He visited the sick, the poor, prisoners. He wept with them. He taught us that leadership is service.
GOODBYE, BUT NOT GONE
Three years on, his voice still echoes in our churches. His Runyankole proverbs still correct us. His laughter still warms our memories.
“Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Run your race, Archbishop from Bumbaire. We are still running ours.
May the Lord whom you served with humility, humor, and holy zeal grant you eternal rest. We love you. We miss you. We thank God for you.
Rest in Peace, +Paul K. Bakyenga #PaulKBakyenga #3YearsOn #BumbaireBoy #MbararaArchdiocese #KitabiSeminary #CatholicUganda
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