Sarah Mateke (RIP)
President Museveni has revealed that Sarah Mateke, the former Minister of State for Defense, was slated to travel to South Korea for the same security conference that former Internal Affairs Minister, Aronda Nyakairima, was returning from when he died on September 12, 2015.
The President made the revelation while addressing mourners at Parliament, where he had gone to pay his respect to Mateke, saying that it was good Sarah Mateke didn’t get onto the plane just as Aronda had done, saying had he known about Aronda’s medical condition, he would have blocked his travel.
“We are coming from remembering General Aronda; you remember Aronda died on the plane who was coming from South Korea on the conference of security. Now, this Sarah was apparently supposed to travel to South Korea on the same conference from which Aronda died when he was coming back. And she was supposed to travel that night. Now, it was fortunate that she didn’t go on the plane,” said Museveni.
He added, “When Aronda died on the plane, I didn’t know that he had a medical condition that was a problem; I didn’t know. If I had known, I would have stopped him from traveling those long distances. So this is the only side I would advise our cadres, Ugandans, to be careful with health. Make sure you check properly, and if there is a need for rest, you rest.
The President urged all NRM cadres and Ugandans to take good care of their lives by conducting medical checkups, noting that Mateke had also gone to conduct some checkups ahead of her travel, but her condition was discovered too late, adding that although as fighters there are lives that are lost, there is a need to avoid some losses due to the gaps created when the fighters die.
The President noted, “Like in this case, it was good that she went to check, but it was a bit too late. But she was going to travel such a long distance when she had a medical condition that was quite sensitive. Therefore, my appeal to the cadres is to remember that you are a soldier.”
“We are fighters; we lose people when we are fighting; our people die; we kill them; the enemy also kills us, but we move on. But we try to avoid unnecessary losses because anybody who dies creates a gap on our side. Death takes away strength from us, and that is why, therefore, the fighters should look after their lives not as just theirs; it is also ours, all of us, because when you go, you go, but you leave us in a problem. How shall we fill your gap? What shall we do? How shall we fill here where you have left? And that is why you should carefully check your life,” added President Museveni.
In his tribute, President Museveni described Mateke as a calm and good person who managed to maneuver the difficult politics of Kisoro district without creating enemies, which explains why most people have only spoken good things about her.
“She would be calm; say a few words. I formed the committee to study the issue of Congo. She was there, representing Kisoro, and they were supposed to brief me to report back, and in those discussions, that is where I interacted with her closely. You could see that she was very careful with her words. She doesn’t just talk like that. So it is a big loss, but the few years she has been here, she has been like an example to those who know her well. Because you know how quarrelsome those Bafumbira can be, so when you hear people give testimony that she was good, you know that she was really good,” explained Museveni.
