Kagame honours pioneer of EA Revival Movement

President Paul Kagame yesterday, paid a glowing tribute to the late Kosiya Kyamuhangire – father to Uganda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sam Kutesa – who passed away in 1952 in Gahini in Rwanda.Kyamuhangire, one of the pioneers of what is known as East Africa Revival Movement (EARM) died during an Anglican missionary convention.Born in 1914, Kyamuhangire died of meningitis at Gahini hill in Kayonza District – a place which would become his final resting place.“Today, on both sides of the border, we are united in honouring him and what he stood for. We, in Rwanda, particularly feel greatly honoured that Gahini, was found fitting to be his final resting place,” President Kagame, who was accompanied by his wife, Mrs Jeannette Kagame, said during a memorial service at Gahini Anglican Diocese.The function was attended by senior Rwandan and Ugandan politicians, including Sam Kutesa and wife Edith Gasana.The President and his wife laid a wreath and unveiled a tombstone in honour of the late Kyamuhangire.Kagame said Rwandan people have fond memories of Kyamuhangire’s personal ministry, adding that the important role the protestant revival movement he represented played in the spiritual, social, and economic development of both Rwanda and Uganda.“The Christian revival that he and his contemporaries spread across East Africa was in many ways the first real regional movement and places them among the first true East Africans. Their work personified our current EAC motto: “One people, one destiny” long before the organisation even existed,” the President observed.Gahini is known to be the spiritual home of the Anglican movement since the early 1930s and, according to President Kagame, the place will always “symbolise the bond that exists between the Rwandan and Ugandan people”.“It reminds us that for centuries we lived as one and that the border that divide us is not only artificial and superficial, but with increased integration, should in a sense become irrelevant.“And as we know, Late Kyamuhangire’s generation were not hostages of this border. They had a vision of the people of Rwanda and Uganda living as a family, feeling genuinely at home on both sides of the border because they sincerely believed that we shared a common destiny,” he added.The Head of State noted that in many ways, the Late Kyamuhangire started the East African vision that is becoming a reality today, “and we honour him for that. Let us recognise the importance of this historical context and draw lessons from it for our current integration efforts, otherwise we will miss a golden opportunity to bring our people together.”Earlier on, the event had started with Kyamuhangire’s family and friends from Rwanda and Uganda singing church hymns.In his remarks, Sam Kutesa said: “The peace and stability that the Rwanda Patriotic Front government has brought to this country is what has enabled us to come and join our brothers and sisters in Rwanda that to honour my father 60 years after his death.”“It was not possible to do so before the advent of the RPF government in Rwanda. I also want to Thank God for the excellent and brotherly relations that exist between our two countries Uganda and Rwanda,” he added. Although he said he did not properly remember his father as he passed on when he was just four, Kutesa has fond memories of his father, whom he said had commitment and passion for spiritual revival.Also remembered were the other pioneers of the EARM. Clergymen from Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda read names of the East African missionaries who visited Gahini between the 1930s and 1960s.Also honoured were Kyamuhangire’s wife late Elisabeth Kyozaire, William Nagenda (Father to Ugandan presidential aide John Nagenda) and his wife, Rev. Musajaakawa, Yoweli Rutamwebwa, Abaishemwe, Mishakye Kikundo, Thomas Kabaho, Zabroni Rutafa Elimiya Kagyendagura, and Yeremiya Kagyendagura, among others“In some way, our presence here is yet another pilgrim to Gahini, the center of EARM in Rwanda. For my people, salvation was a changing and transformative phenomenon; it modernised their way of life and eradicated some diseases,” said Kutesa.He added that, in 1952, his father, together with his colleagues rode their bicycles to Gahini from as far as Sembabule in central Uganda, to attend one of the East African Revival conventions. Tragically, he was hit by meningitis and died shortly”.Kutesa said he had for years hunted for the exact spot where his father was buried but with no trace until recently when an old woman, Marian Kajuga, who happened to have attended Kyamuhangire’s funeral and planted a tree on his grave, showed him the place.According to Kajuga, planting a tree on Kyamuhangire’s grave was in the hope that one day one of his relatives could come to pay tribute to him.President Kagame and his wife joined the Family of Minister Kutesa to lay wreaths on the grave of the late Kyamuhangire which is located a few meters from Gahini Protestant Church.The Bishop of Gahini Diocese, Alexis Birindabagabo, said that the memorial was a celebration of life after death.“Kyamuhangire was a true pan African, he was among those who comfortably moved with no limitation spreading the gospel; they defied the physical boundaries because they were not consulted were they were drawn… Kyamuhangire made us a family, and, as a family, we can’t avoid each other but love each other,” observed BirindabagoIn his sermons, the retired Bishop of Uganda’s Mukono Diocese, Paul Ruzinda, spoke about living a holy life, telling the congregation that Kyamuhangire decided to live a truthful life. He asked those in attendance to walk in the late Kyamuhangire’s shoes in their Christian life.Together with some of his neighbours, Kyamuhangire converted to Christianity in 1939, and the group of converts walked from their home in Sembabule to Naguru Katale, Kampala to study catechism so as to be baptized. It is said that the converts of 1939, including Kyamuhangire, were the ones behind the famous East African Revival Movement.They were considered dedicated, with tales of their long trips for revival conventions.Out of five children born to Kyamuhangire, Sam Kutesa and his sister Yoniya Mukwano are the only surviving ones.

National

Kagame honours pioneer of EA Revival Movement