Wednesday 22 November 2017

FARE THEE WELL REVEREND BROTHER ANTHONY JOSEPH KYEMWA 87, THE 1st AFRICAN HEADMASTER OF St. MARY’S COLLEGE KISUBI (1969 – 1980)




Brother Kyemwa in the middle with his teachers.




Brother Anthony Joseph Kyemwa was first African Headmaster of St. Mary’s College from 1969 to 1980.  He was born in 1930 had Primary Education at Busubizi from 1939-1945.  He went to Kisubi Junior and Senior Secondary School (now St. Mary’s College Kisubi) and was in Lourdel House.  Joined Mt. St. Theresa to train as a Brother 1952-1954.  Later went to Makerere University 1954-1959 offering Fine Art.  Was posted to St. Leo’s College Kyegobe in Fort Portal, later joining St. Mary’s College as a teacher in 1961.




In 1965 he left for a second Novitiate to Britain, later went to USA where he studied at the University of Notre Dame for a Masters degree in School Administration.





Brother Kyemwa on Graduating with a Masters Degree
 


Brother Kyemwa was successor to Brother David Denicourt.  He took office heading 90% expatriate staff with a challenge to uphold the school standards and also improve on it.  By the time he left office, the staff was 99% indigenous.
Brother Kyemwa initially continued with the expansion of the school inherited from his predecessors to 5 streams initially, and he accordingly went to expand accommodation.  He built some pre-fabricated classrooms and also improved and enlarged dormitories and toilets.  With the departure of the expatriates during the early 1970’s, the number of White lay teachers and White Brothers dwindled and there was need to recruit more lay African teachers, who soon out numbered the Brothers on the staff, thus the rush to put up new as well as expansion of the staff quarters.  However, after 1973, the intake was cut down to a total of 120 students on admission to senior one.


Brother Anthony Joseph Kyemwa was appointed first African Headmaster of St. Mary’s College Kisubi, ending the 43-year era of the White Brothers. He was Headmaster for 11 years he officially handed over office to Brother (Dr) Kafeero in 1982 after a three years’ leave abroad.
Brother Kyemwa’s administration wanted to change the approach to Education at St. Mary’s College, so he sent out teachers to other schools to collect information in respect of school administration; school programmes; teachers conditions; school activities and organization.  The information got was compiled and comparisons made with what was being done at St. Mary’s then, hence a new approach leading to the changing of the expatriates’ approach hence the re-birth of St. Mary’s College Kisubi.

“St. Mary’s College, was founded to assist parents and students in a common task.  This is the task of seeing to it that each student is provided with the opportunity to grow into the best possible man for, it is believed, every student in the school is a potential grown-up who will eventually take up a honourable place in a community of men,” Brother Kyemwa.
 
   

Dr.Onegi Obel



The Eagle Magazine Team Interviewed Dr. Geofrey Onegi Obel (Old Boy of SMACK) and below is the Excerpt:
The Eagle: What do you remember most about SMACK?
Geofrey Onegi Obel: When I think about SMACK, the first thing that comes to my mind is Brother Anthony Kyemwa.
The Eagle: Why?
Geofrey Onegi Obel: He was kind of role model to us, a very strong figure, parental and also very nice as long as you did not cross his way.

 The Statue of the Virgin Mary in the Dormitory Area







Brother Anthony Kyemwa is personally the Architect of the Artwork of a Life – Size Statue of the Virgin Mary (Our Lady Of Kisubi) located in the middle of the Dormitory Quadrangle. He put up this Artwork when he was still a student of Fine Art at Makerere University.  It is a symbol of spiritual nourishment of SMACK.
 



President Obote RIP Visited SMACK in 1969
 





 Prefects greet President Obote



Late President Obote visited the school on March 15, 1969. The Current Affairs Club of the school invited him. He delivered a very animating speech to the school community in the Assembly Hall on “The current political trend in Uganda”.
Speaking on the issue of integration, Obote firmly told his audience that the integration, which at times was called nation building, could not be willed.  “I, as President of Uganda, you as youths of Uganda, our fathers or any other person in Uganda cannot do just as God did in the creation of the earth.  It is not within our power as human beings to say “Let there be integration” and to hope or expect that we shall have integration tomorrow morning.  We have to work consciously towards integration and perhaps the most encouraging element in this conscious effort to build one Uganda is what I have already referred to, namely, the positive response of our youth in supporting this policy.”
Obote went to explain: “I do not think it necessary that I should discuss with you why this trend in the affairs of Uganda should be encouraged.  It is this.  Before the coming of the British, the world of our grandfathers ended with the tribal boundaries. 
It would be a disservice to our youth if they were to grow in the twentieth century or in the centuries to come, in the world of our grandfathers.  To you, your vision is greater than what our grandfathers had and your area of operation must be in Uganda as a whole and not just some corner of this beautiful land.  It is easy to formulate this type of policy, the policy of integration, the policy of building one Uganda, but it is another thing to define what must be done and be able to do it.
There is still tremendous prejudice in our country.  There is considerable ignorance of how people in different parts of Uganda live.  Here again it is just not possible to will away prejudices, but we must work consciously to remove them.  We must show by example that we mean to build one Uganda.  You might have heard in the past of prejudices of various types.  Some cover religion; some cover what this or that tribe eats or do.  These matters can end if only we have the determination to remove them from our society and one way of removing them is to show by example that all those who believe in the unity of Uganda, all those who want to accept the people of Uganda of every description, must discourage the others who still live in the past and must themselves bring forth examples that will, for instance, make it absolutely clear that a Catholic is as good as a Protestant, and that a Muslim is as much a human being as a Christian.  We must encourage the people of Uganda, particularly the young, to mix freely with their compatriots from all areas of Uganda.”


Idi Amin Visited St. Mary’s College in 1970
 


 Amin at SMACK


Idi Amin as Commander and Chief of Defence Staff (Uganda Armed Forces) visited the school.  He came with his officers for two reasons:

To offer condolences for the 12 boys who had lost their lives in a road accident involving an army lorry and the school truck.

To interest the students to join the National Army as Officer Cadets.

When Idi Amin was taken around, he saw mounted skeletons in the Biology Laboratory.  He made an offer of bones of a Tiger for mounting.  Mr Sebastian Nsubuga says that, “the dead Tiger’s carcass was brought to him.  He removed some of the flesh and put the remains in water to facilitate the rotting.  Thereafter, the remaining flesh got off easily, them he used glue to stick the bones together and them the skeleton was put in the current infrastructure.”
 


The Tiger bones donated by Amin

It is alleged that the Tiger killed a warden by the name of Matovu at Entebbe Zoo (Uganda Wildlife Education Centre) as he gave it food.  It is then that the animal was shot, and eventually the bones donated by Idi Amin to SMACK.



The Vice – President of Uganda, Late John Babiha, a former Old Boy of SMACK visited the school in 1970. He was offering the school animals so as to get started on Agriculture, but the school declined the offer, as it was not ready.


 Brother Kyemwa with a former Head prefect at SMACK who is a Medical Doctor

 


The developments during Brother Kyemwa’s time included:






 As the White Brothers got phased out slowly, there was a challenge to build staff houses for the non – Brother Teachers, hence the construction of the staff quarters found along SMACK Road.  These were strategically located at the school land borders.  In addition, he expanded, those houses, which existed from accommodating 2 teachers to four, by adding two extensions on each structure.

1.      He bought a bus for the school in replacement of the Lorry, which had been involved in an accident in 1964.  This innovation excited students very much.
2.      A modern Electrically Operated Kitchen was built to replace the firewood one.
3.      More Classrooms were built (the two blocks behind the Main Administration Block), the Agriculture block, the Bursar’s block and the 2nd HSc dormitory (near Mugwanya and Kiwanuka Dormitories).
4.      A Parlour for the students was built (currently it is the school canteen).


6.      A cement/concrete basketball court at the western end of the main athletic field was made, it was offered by an American Peace Corp Teacher’s family.
7.      The school uniform was re-established consisting of a white shirt and Grey trousers supplied at the school.  Sports uniforms were also supplied according to house colours and badges.  Navy blue shorts with golden lining on either side were added for all students.
8.      House Masters slept in their houses using the central dormitory cubicles between the two wings of each dormitory.  These lived closer to the members of their houses as a family.
9.      Every Wednesday, sick students would be accompanied by the school nurse in the school bus to Entebbe Hospital where they would be treated free of charge.
10.  Interschool dances Sosh were normally held during daytime to avoid traveling at night due to rampant acts of insecurity during the 1970’s.
1.  A second Water tank was put up.


 
Assumed right of way


A personal account by Brother Anthony Kyemwa of one of the challenges he had as Headmaster during the Late President Idi Amin’s time.
One morning in the 1970’s, a soldier in Army Uniform came to the Headmaster’s Office at St. Mary’s College.  He wanted to force me to bring back a student whom I had sent home indefinitely because of gross misconduct pending the next Board of Governors meeting.  He made his way past a number of students waiting at the Headmaster’s Office and closed the door behind him.
He then inquired from me about the boy in question whom he said was at his residence at Entebbe Military Barracks.  He wanted him back into the school immediately.  I asked if he was the parent or a relative of the boy.  He retorted saying that he had come from the Intelligence Military Wing.  I told him that he had taken a wrong procedure.  He would have to go through his Commander to the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence who would, in turn, talk to the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, down to the proper officer who would finally contact me about the matter at hand.
He told me that the Intelligence Military men had “right of way” to anyone in the country!  He followed his statement by picking up the telephone to speak to his officers.  I was quick to ask him whether or not he would foot the bill of the call, because all school expenses had to be accounted for.  Without answering my inquiry, he went ahead and pretended to be talking to somebody at the other end.  I asked him for his identity card and he handed me one from the pocket of his trousers.  I read his name and the number of the card.  The moment I started writing down the information, he snatched it away from me.  I thought that was a weakness on his part.  He told me as he went out that Johnny must be back in school the following day!
I quickly wrote down his name and number of the identity card he had just shown me and called up the officer concerned at the Ministry of Education to inform him about the incident.  He blamed me for letting the Military man into my office to which I answered that he had forced himself into my office.
He asked me if I had taken down any information about him and I gave him the above information.  I also described his hands, which bore white scars like somebody burnt by fire or acid. 
After several weeks, the soldier was brought to my office; his wrists cuffed and between two military men and an officer who had led them.  The officer asked the would-be prisoner to repeat what he had ordered me to do about the student I had sent home.  The victim did not give any answer; instead he bent his head and looked at the floor. The officer apologized for the intrusion of the soldier in school matters, and the group walked out.





The Eagle Magazine team of 2004 Interviewed Dr. Simon Kagugube and below is an Excerpt.





Dr Simon Kagugube was at St. Mary’s College from 1970 to 1975
The Eagle: Any negative memories of SMACK?
Dr Simon Kagugube: No negative memories, none at all.  A few difficult times maybe.  For me it was very good.  I don’t have anything to regret.  I have been to America for 6 years, Yale…all over;

Kisubi is the best place I have lived in period.    There are no serious worries when in SMACK.  No negative memories, tough moment’s maybe.  When I was House Prefect for Kiwanuka there was a near strike.  That was one of the most challenging moments in SMACK, not negative.  We were new prefects and there was a near strike in the school.  And remember these were Amin’s days they could bring Military Police!  As leaders we had to balance the pressure of the students and the administration.  So, we collected all the students, had them sit in the middle of the school buildings that is (Administration block, the Chapel, Chemistry Laboratory and HSc Block), we then asked them to write down all their grievances.  I was assigned the role of writing out these grievances because of my good English Language.  I sat in Cubicle A (HSc Building) and for the bigger part of the night I was writing.  And, remember Brother Anthony Kyemwa (the Headmaster) was the type whose No! was a NO!  Nonetheless, we had very good working relationship with him.  There was respect for each other.  I wrote out the students’ complaints and gave students to reproduce (I still have the original copy in my papers).  I read it out to the students; that is before the entire school.  We had to control the crowd… charisma, and I felt like a real politician.  Brother Kyemwa insisted on reading it to the members of staff himself.  The staff members came out asking why we were so hard.  However, I am very proud of that effort.
The Eagle: Any role SMACK has played in your life?
Dr. Kagugube: My whole life in SMACK; right from S1 one is called a gentlemen.  That makes you feel that you are somebody.  It builds self-confidence; mine has never suffered.  You never feel like anybody is better than you.  You interact with very many people from all over.  Education was fantastic, went to Makerere and was one of the best, excelled at Yale University for my Masters, went on for my Ph.D.  I am able to fit anywhere because of such an education…
The Eagle: How would you compare yourself with say people from Buddo?
Dr. Kagugube: SMACK is the best.





Asked about what led St. Mary’s College Kisubi to be at the height of glory and fame it enjoys as far as academics is concerned, Brother Kyemwa said, “ In my opinion, the aspirations of the students and staff led to the rise of the school.  There was a strong spirit of competitiveness with other leading schools; that is Kings College Buddo, Mt. St. Mary’s Namagunga, Namilyango to mention but a few.”

 




Brother Kyemwa’s message to the SMACK community if they are to maintain the established tradition of excellence is: “Discipline should be emphasized because it is with discipline that one can concentrate on one’s work.  There should also be a strong school spirit among the students because this unites them in all aspects.”  “When I meet former students of St. Mary’s College Kisubi, they always thank me for having emphasized discipline.”


 The vehicle Brother Kyemwa used most of the time when he was Headmaster