A few hours after Gen Elly Tumwine was pronounced dead on Thursday, August 25, 2022, the cause of his death has been revealed, putting an end to the question: what exactly killed the former security minister.
Gen Tumwine, the man hailed for firing the first shot in the National Resistance Army (NRA) war that propelled Yoweri Museveni’s group to power in 1986, has been in hospital in Aga Khan in Nairobi, Kenya for a number of days.
The general’s family and government had sought to keep his sickness and hospitalization a well-guarded secret but reports of his ill health leaked to the media, and for some hours sparked off death rumors.
Only Gen Tumwine’s frail appearance before the press at the government owned Uganda Media Centre during the Covid19 pandemic could have given Uganda’s a hint on the then security minister’s health condition.
Tumwine, whose face was injured during the NRA war and lost sight in one of his eyes, was at the Aga Khan Hospital in his last days on earth.
According to Gen Museveni, Uganda’s President and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, Tumwine passed on 14 minutes to 6am on Thursday, August 25, 2022.
Museveni also revealed that Gen Tumwine succumbed to cancer of the lungs.
“Countrymen and Countrywomen, especially the NRM- NRA- UPDF fraternity. With deep sorrow, I announce the death of General Elly Tumwiine which occurred at 5:46am this morning in Nairobi, from lung cancer,” said Museveni.
The president made this revelation on his trusted general’s cause of death hours after news of his demise broke. (Read Story Here).
It should be remembered that before he died — and especially after he was dropped as minister — Gen Elly Tumwine sent a very clear message to Museveni telling him to leave power in peace, not to behave like a Ngamba Nyenka (dictator) and plunge Uganda into Libya-like chaos. (Read Stories Here and There).
You can read Gen Elly Tumwine’s profile, showing interesting facts about the general HERE.
