Sergeant-at-Arms Ahmed Kagoye, 44 others get medals as NRM marks liberation day

The Sergeant-at-Arms of Parliament Mr Ahmed Kagoye, Kayunga District Health officer, and 43 other others have been awarded medals.

The Sergeant-at-Arms Mr Kagoye is the ceremonial custodian of the Mace and the implementer of all orders and actions requested by the Speaker. His main role is to provide a safe, clean and secure environment throughout the precincts of Parliament.

Kagoye and others were awarded during the celebrations to mark the National Resistance Movement-NRM 37th anniversary which was held at Kakeeka grounds in Kakumiro District.

The medals awarded included; the Damu medal, Nalubaale medal, golden jubilee medal, Diamond Jubilee medal, Luwero Triangle medal and National Independence medal among others.

This year’s theme was; ‘Our resolute effort to transform Uganda is a promise we shall fulfill’.

37 people were awarded the Independence medal, Nalubaale medal –five, Damu medal-two and Luwero Triangle medal –one person.

The medalists include Dr. Robert Ssentongo, a health officer who hails from Kayunga district. He is a highly trained and skilled healthcare worker with a passion for the rural population.

As the president of the Association of surgeons of Uganda, he participated in and advocated for free rural surgeon camps in all regions of Uganda. The surgical camps have since grown and are eventually emulated by other fields of medicine to reach out to the underprivileged Ugandans.

Others included Dr. Ahmed Matovu, the District Health officer for Kayunga who has ventured into research and made several publications in the field of medicine for example factors influencing uptake of prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV in healthcare facilities in Kabalole district and use of anti-malarial drugs a case study of Kayunga hospital.

Dr. Mukhtar Mohammed (RIP), the founder of St. John’s Ambulance Service; Mujuni Edigar, Bonny Omar, and Tebusweke Derrick took part in the designing and launch of Uganda’s first Satellite.

Speaking during the celebrations, Museveni said “Uganda already entered the middle-income country status but you need three years consecutively to be recognized as a middle-income country and in my view, all these are low targets that Uganda will easily surpass.”

He said by the end of 2023, GDP per capita will be USD 1067. “You will remember that for every middle-income category, you need a GDP per capita of USD 1039 for three consecutive years. This is now the second financial year. We have been in that category. So we have already entered the middle-income countries have been talking about.”

He said he has woken up Ugandans from this sleep of ignorance.

“We are going to add value to coffee and other raw materials. These broad-spectrum value addition movements will jumpstart our economy to a half-trillion-economy of $500bn.”

“We are going to add value to our coffee and the other raw materials like maize minerals, etc. This broad spectrum value additional movement will jumpstart our economy in a very short time to a half trillion economy of USD 500billion I don’t want to hear economy of 48 billion, 50 billion, 60 billion,” he said.

He said Patriotism, Loving in Uganda, and pan-Africanism-loving Africa reoriented the Ugandans from following the politics of identity, tribes’ religion, gender, etc.