Harry Sagara reminisces John Nagenda

Thinking of John Nagenda, around 2006 I had a Journalists award ceremony called The Golden Pen Awards, I had invited the President who then delegated the then Minister of Information, Nsaba Buturo. Harry Sagara reminisces:

Personally I dont like Nsaba Buturo so I made it known to the then PPS, Amelia Kyambadde and requested that I would rather have John Nagenda because  I was not about to bore my guests with a slow minister! Soon I was on phone with Nagenda, he asked me where I was and I told him. Then he asked me what kind of car I was driving, and I said it was a Toyota Camry. Harry Sagara!

“Mr. Sagara you can do better than this…. I am not going to allow that car in my compound,” he said tongue in cheek. “Just stay where you are, I am sending my driver to come and pick you up and bring you to my house in Muyenga.” Soon his driver arrived where I was with a bodyguard in the car.  The next thing we were driving into this swanky pad with a beautiful lake view. I jumped out of his car as he towered above us on the first floor balcony.

“Beautiful House,” I said and he retorted, “You think this is beautiful…you haven’t seen my other house,” “So I guess when you guys in opposition come to power you will want to use this as your State House,” he added with a belly laugh. He then took me on a guided tour of the house and introduced his late parents whose pictures hung on the walls before he asked me whether I prefered coffee, juice or vodka.

Well, I went for the coffee before he led me to his balcony and asked me to brief him about the Golden Pen Awards.  After my brief,  he asked me, “are you making money?” and I told him I had a 5 year plan and in the first years I would make losses but plan to break even by year three. He then told me to book for him the Presidential Suite at Hotel Africana (where the event was going to be held) and also write for him a speech to which I obliged. then he added, “those Africana guys know my drink so they should have it in the room. “I will be there by 5pm.” (the event was slated for 7pm).

Well, his driver then dropped me back to my jalopy and off I was at the hotel. True to his word..Mr. Nagenda was in his suite by 5pm. Then at one point he asked the hotel staff to call me. I thought there was an issue. When I got into his suite, he told me, “Mutabani, funa akatebe otuule awo. Wali onywedde ku Nviinyo? Leta glass nkuwe ku nvinnyo..ojiwulire,” he said as he poured me a glass of wine. I sat in that Suite for two hours straight and we downed three bottles of Souvenir Carbanet.

When I told him that it was time to go and make his keynote address, he totally ingored the speech I had written for him and went off cuff to the delight of the guests. It was a great presentation he made to this day. We still remember his quips. there was a time he sent his picture to William Pike and on seeing the picture William was like “John, the older you grow, the uglier you get,” and trust Mr. Nagenda to snap back.”Well, I am just lucky, for you you never waited to grow old.” We shall Miss you John Nagenda!