Prof. Edward Bitanywaine Rugumayo

A man passionate about botany and plant species, he was a lecturer and warden of Mitchell Hall in 1971 at Makerere university when one morning he woke up to an announcement on the only radio at the time, Radio Uganda, that he had been made minister for education by Idi Amin. By 1973, he was unable to keep the job given the reign of terror by Amin on the educated people. He tendered in his resignation while in Nairobi by telex and went into full time exile, holding teaching positions at the university of Zambia and entering a network of those fighting Idi Amin from outside the country. He would attend the Moshi conference in March 1979 and become the Chairman of the Uganda National Consultative Council (NCC), the first parliament after Idi Amin. He is known for his close associates, Professors Yash Tandon, Omwony Ojok and Dani Wadada Nabudere. In a sarcastic quip that easily caught on, the late President Godfrey Binaisa called this group the “Gang of four”, after Chairman Mao Zedong’s group in power that included Jiang Qing, Zhang Chunqiao, Yao Wenyuan and Wang Hongwen. He returned to public life as our Ambassador to South Africa in 1995 and later he served as Minister for Tourism and Antiquities. He asked the President to release him into retirement when the president appointed him to serve as an ambassador to France. He didn’t want to leave the country again for long periods. He instead returned to education sector and heading the mountains of the Moon University. His name is Prof. Edward Bitanywaine Rugumayo and he turns 88 in December this year.