Professor Augustus Nuwagaba, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Uganda, has revealed that he was once employed by the late Canon Dr. John Sedrack Batuma to count spoons.Sp eaking on Saturday during a thanksgiving event held to commemorate Batuma, a pioneer dairy farmer in the Kigezi region, Nuwagaba shared the life experience. The thanksgiving took place at Bubaare Secondary School playground in Bubaare Town Council, Rubanda District.
Nuwagaba narrated that during his Senior Six vacation in 1986, Batuma employed him to count spoons at Highland Hotel, located along Kabale-Kisoro Main Street in Kabale Town. At the time, Highland Hotel was among the leading hotels in western Uganda. According to Nuwagaba, Batuma assigned him the job after frequent thefts of hotel spoons led to losses.
Nuwagaba said he diligently performed the task, which eventually discouraged workers from stealing the spoons. He added that the experience taught him not to despise any job, a lesson he urged young people and the public to embrace today.
David Bahati, State Minister for Trade, praised Batuma for his political transition—from generously supporting the Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) party to later joining the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) by hosting President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni at his dairy farm in Bubaare Sub-county in the 1990s.
In a speech read on his behalf by Dr. Chris Baryomunsi, Minister for ICT and National Guidance, President Museveni described Batuma as an honest, incorruptible, hardworking, and God-fearing man. Museveni also commended Batuma for pioneering dairy farming and wine production (under the Banapo wine brand) in the Kigezi region, highlighting him as a model for Ugandans to shift from subsistence farming to commercial agriculture.
Canon Ivan Mbabazi Batuma, the deceased’s son, explained that the family organized the thanksgiving to honor their father’s legacy, thank God for the gift of life, and raise funds for the completion of the expansion of St. James Bubaare Archdeaconry Church, whose roots trace back to 1921 after missionaries Hornby and Sharp preached to the Bubaare community.
Samson Sam Besigye, 74, former LC3 Chairperson of Greater Bubaare Sub-county and Batuma’s successor as Bubaare Church of Uganda Synod member, fondly recalled an incident where Batuma’s late wife, Beatrice, gave him a plate full of meat while they grazed cattle near Batuma’s home.
Canon Dr. John Sedrack Batuma was born on December 31, 1927, in Nyamiyaga, Bubaare Sub-county, Rubanda District, to the late Daudi Rujojo and Dorotia Katungiisa. He died in 2008 at the age of 81. He was married to Beatrice Batuma, who passed away in 1976, and they were survived by eight children and 23 grandchildren at the time of her death.
Batuma began his education at Bubaare Church School before joining Kigezi High School. He later studied at Entebbe Veterinary Institute, qualifying as a veterinary assistant. In 1963, he earned a scholarship to study veterinary medicine in Israel. Upon his return, he served as District Veterinary Assistant in Kabale until 1969 when he resigned to join the private sector, which was largely dominated by Asians at the time.
In 1963, Batuma had already founded the Kigezi African Wholesale Company. In the mid-1970s, he started the Kigezi Dairy Cooperative Society, uniting dairy farmers across the region. He was appointed a Canon of the Church of Uganda in 1976 by Bishop Festo Kivengere and later received an honorary Doctorate from the University of California in 1989.
Canon Batuma was also known for hosting three heads of state: Idi Amin, Dr. Milton Obote, and President Yoweri Museveni. In 1975, he chaired the Diocese of Kigezi’s Cathedral Building Project.
At the thanksgiving event, Sh500 million was raised in cash and pledges towards the expansion of Bubaare Church of Uganda in his memory. President Museveni contributed Sh50 million in cash.